Matilda died. :( Anything I need to do for the other girls?

[Patoot]

I went out this morning to give the girls some sunflower seeds and only three came running. Matilda was in her spot as usual. She likes to dig a hole near a bush and hunker down. I went to her and she had died.

There is no obvious cause of death. She was fine the other day and dead today. She was eating before, has all her feathers, no poop near her butt, no obvious injury...

All the other girls are totally fine, but so was Matilda.

She would have been 3 years old in May.

Is there something I did? Do young chickens sometimes just die for no obvious reason?

My poor girl. I only had 4 of them and they have a huge house, lots of place to run around, high protein diet, not too many treats (some sunflower seeds and some fruits and greens here and there). In the summer they ate lots of grass, but it's all dead now.

 

[kallnojoy]

Sorry to hear of your loss... I too lost a hen today, also unexpectedly.

She was < 2 years old, 1 of 6 in the run and all seemed healthy.

Found her this afternoon dead by the feeder, no signs of trauma or illness that I could see. There were a few scattered feathers near her, but I assumed it was the other girls pecking at her a bit or maybe she flopped around some.

Tail/vent area was clean, as was her beak area.

Given that this is my first batch of birds, I'm clueless as to what to make of it.

 

[Deerling]

I'm so sorry to hear both of you lost a hen. I don't even have my chicks yet, so no advice, just hugs. I hope you get some answers.

 

[Suzie]

Sorry to read that you lost your chickens, sometimes they die for reasons we will never know, it is very sad and extremely frustrating but it happens despite our loving care for them.

Thinking of you at this sad time

Suzie

 

[Patoot]

I just lost one of the four.

Thanks everyone. It's nice to know they can just die for no apparent reason. I keep thinking I did something wrong for her to die so young.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

By the sounds of it you have done nothing wrong.
I to have had a pullet die (this was a while back). She had a fit and if i hadn't had been there at that exact time i would have missed the whole thing, it happened very quickly. She ran about a bit falling all over the place (which would explain the disperse of feathers), so i picked her up and held her tight for about 30 seconds then she wormed her way out of my arms and then just dropped limp the whole thing only took about 40secs-1 min. The only thing we thought it could be was a tick.
Maybe this is what happened to your poor girl.

hope you feel alright.

 

[PharmGirl]

SO very sorry for your loss. You are in my thoughts and prayers. No idea either I am a newbie but I do understand your sorrow.

 

[Nutcase]

I'm sure you did nothing wrong. Sometimes these things just happen. It may be too late, but having a look at her body may help you realise what happened and how to prevent any spreading of disease (if that's what it was). But if you don't feel up to it, DON'T do it. It's your choice.
It could've been poison, if it was lice/mites/worms I'm sure it would not have been such a sudden death. I'm so sorry for you.

 

[Patoot]

What should I look for? I did examine her a bit to see if there was anything obvious. No poop stuck to her. No lice/mites. She had the most beautiful feathers. Out of all of them, she was the prettiest with the shiniest, fullest, red feathers. No trauma to her legs or beak. What else can I look for? I don't think it would be a tick. We're in an urban area and not too many bugs around here. Not to say we don't have them, but my dog has never had a flea or tick in the 10 years we have lived here. The other girls seem fine.

Thanks for letting me know this just sometimes happens...as sad as that is...

 

[Nutcase]

I know how you feel. We have had more than one unexplained death since we started raising chickens.

I'm wondering, is there any swelling on her body at all? Like a distended bottom or stomach? And her crop, is it squishy, tight, swollen or empty? Again, don't check it out if it's too much for you.