Lost chicken

[Carymcmillin]

Just checked my coop and lost a 6 week old chicken. No apparent reason. I am worried that I may loose others. Does anyone have any advice.

 

[sourland]

'Lost' as in died or as in gone? Gone - worry about predators. Died - sometimes sudden death happens - especially in the fast gain meat birds.

 

[Carymcmillin]

Died, first time I lost one that sudden. I have lost a few that I suspected was ill so was expecting. Thanks for the reply

 

[Ridgerunner]

No marks on it, doing fine, then suddenly died. Some are born with a birth defect that can cause a heart attack or maybe a stroke. They do fine until all of a sudden they don't.

Accidents happen. I had an older one that I think broke her neck when flying down from the roost. I have a lot of clear coop floor for them to fly down but I think she either hit a feeder or another chicken. I had another that probably broke her neck when she panicked in trying to get away from an amorous rooster or from a pecking order fight.

If it is a one off really rare event I wouldn't worry about it. If you deal with living animals you have to deal with dead animals. If it repeats you can call your county extension service and see what it takes to get a necropsy. That's where they cut them open to try to determine cause of death. I don't know how they do that in Michigan. In some states the cost is not much, others charge more. They generally want them refrigerated, maybe on ice. They do not want them frozen. So find out cost, where to take it, and how to handle it so you are prepared if it happens again.

This is for "regular" chickens. If you are talking about the Cornish X, which you probably are in the meat bird section, heart attacks or other body failures are fairly common. They grow so fast their heart or body functions often can't keep up. If you are talking Cornish X and you have done many while only losing one suddenly you are doing pretty well.