Lost a hen...no signs of trouble. Weird?

[HudokFarm]

On Sunday morning I found one of our hens dead on the floor of our coop. She looked as if she did not roost the previous night. Was just lying there with her tail up and her head tucked under her breast, gone. Her comb had been a little pale over the past several weeks, but she was perky, dust-bathing, eating and drinking. She was almost 2 years old. We are in Minnesota, but it has been a very mild winter :knocks on wood:

so far and they are not at all cold. I did not examine her, my father-in-law did. I just didn't have the nerve. I asked him to look her over for trauma and he found nothing. I have kept a close eye on the other hens to make sure that they are OK. Am worried about some sort of communicable disease, but no one else appears sick. Of course, neither did she. Do I need to continue to worry? Do hens sometimes just keel over with no apparent signs of distress?

 

[CMV]

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to find dead birds that were apparently completely healthy at last viewing. It could have been anything, but if none of the rest of your flock seems ill, I would not worry overmuch about it.

Sorry for your loss.