Lost my beautiful hen

[sillyduckz]

i am so sorry for your loss, it is incredibly difficult losing a chicken so suddenly. your experience sounds near identical to a death i also experienced in my flock fairly recently. she was a year old brahma hen and passed away in a fashion very similar to how you described.. unfortunately i wasn't able to have her examined for a necropsy but i think it is likely to have been some sort of heart disease as she had developed ascites and had shown some cyanosis in her comb the day she passed. did you notice if your girl had any fluid retention in her abdomen? my condolences to you and your flock

 

[Eggcessive]

I am very sorry that you lost your hen so suddenly. It sounds like she may have had a crop problem, but it could have been something else entirely. I usually do a home necropsy on hens I lose, since looking at the abdominal organs can sometime give clues as to what was going on. I am linking a video below of a vet necropsy, much more involved than necessary, but where the organs are normal and labeled. If you do one, you are welcome to post pictures of the major organs and ask for opinions. If you still have her body and keep it chilled but not frozen, you state vet could do a much more detailed necropsy and tell you what was wrong. Here is a list of state vets:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...7IOlHOhP-eD8qMtZ70RNq6BMO9kVUn3x6so7q0Z_JgEr8

 

[triciayoung]

It could have been a number of things but was probably an illness, not choking.

 

[Synthlady]

Most important, are you okay? I never am when I lose one of my chickens. I would love to know her name and see a picture of her.
Did she happen to lay an egg before she passed?

Thank you, I'm okay now. Still heartbroken, but thankful that she didn't suffer too much on her way out. Her name was Peanut Butter. I collected an egg that looked like hers yesterday evening.

 

[AntiqueB]

I'm so sorry. She was a beautiful hen!

 

[Synthlady]

She probably choked on feed. Do you feed pellets or crumbles? I had 3 of my hens choke on pellets before and I had to help them get it out by rubbing there crop gently and turning he so her face is going towards the ground. If you do feed pellets, I suggest changing to crumbles to be on the safe side.

You know, I'm starting to believe that she just choked on on her feed too. There is no other explanation that would make sense. I do regret not trying to rub her throat or crop when it was happening, perhaps it would have made a difference. Atleast now I know, if this happens again, I'll try what you suggested. They currently eat a feed called Don Roberto poultry feed- which has a mix of seeds and grains. I mix this feed with the Purina All Flock pellets. I started adding the All Flock pellets about 4 months ago to make sure they're getting enough protien in their diet. Perhaps pellets were too large for my hen.

 

[Chicken_Obsesser]

Thank you, I'm okay now. Still heartbroken, but thankful that she didn't suffer too much on her way out. Her name was Peanut Butter. I collected an egg that looked like hers yesterday evening.

She is gorgeous!!!!! Do yo know what kind of chicken she was?

 

[Synthlady]

i am so sorry for your loss, it is incredibly difficult losing a chicken so suddenly. your experience sounds near identical to a death i also experienced in my flock fairly recently. she was a year old brahma hen and passed away in a near identical fashion to how you described.. unfortunately i wasn't able to have her examined for a necropsy but i think it is likely to have been some sort of heart disease as she had developed ascites and had shown some cyanosis in her comb the day she passed. did you notice if your girl had any fluid retention in her abdomen? my condolences to you and your flock

Thank you, I'm sorry for your loss too. When I examined her, she actually felt empty, which was strange. I didn't notice any fluid retention at all. Her comb did turn purple as she was passing away. I did consider that it could have been a heart attack. I'm actually going to find out how to obtain a necropsy in my area for any other future tragedies. It would be nice to know the cause of death for sure, for closure and prevention. Thanks again for your insight, so sorry you had to go through the same experience.

 

[sillyduckz]

Thank you, I'm sorry for your loss too. When I examined her, she actually felt empty, which was strange. I didn't notice any fluid retention at all. Her comb did turn purple as she was passing away. I did consider that it could have been a heart attack. I'm actually going to find out how to obtain a necropsy in my area for any other future tragedies. It would be nice to know the cause of death for sure, for closure and prevention. Thanks again for your insight, so sorry you had to go through the same experience.

i would love to know the outcome of the necropsy, sometimes these things come out of left field and the best thing we can do is turn them into learning experiences. i hope you are doing well; don't blame yourself for the outcome, you did the best you could for her in that moment and she passed with her human by her side which is truly a beautiful way for a beloved companion to move on. thank you for your kind words, much love from one chicken lover to the next

 

[triciayoung]

Thank you, I'm okay now. Still heartbroken, but thankful that she didn't suffer too much on her way out. Her name was Peanut Butter. I collected an egg that looked like hers yesterday evening.

Peanut Butter is beautiful. Consistent with what you described, I'm thinking liver rupture. Our chickens were bred to lay too many eggs and each egg is very taxing on their livers.