Last night, my husband went out to shut the chickens in their coop for the night, and found one of our Buff Orpington hens, aged 6 months, dead in the pen near the front door to the chicken coop. I examined her, and found a large amount of blood on her rectum. Inside, I found a round golf-ball sized egg on the floor in the coop, covered in blood, so I assume it was her last egg. We only have 15 hens and a rooster, and I had been out to the pen several times yesterday. I did not find any of them acting oddly, though I know chickens try to hide their injuries so as not to alert predators to their weakened condition. We are new to chickens (we got all of these chicks at one day old) and feel badly that this poor girl died such a horrid death. Is this common? What could have happened? Also, the chickens, who are usually easy to get in to their coop with the wrinkling of a bread sack, were very hesitant to go near the coop, but finally did. I am sure they were freaked out by one of their own lying dead near the front door. Are there signs I should be watching for to alert me to a chicken in distress? Can anything be done to avoid this? Thanks for any suggestions!
