My young Buff Orp. hen died suddenly :(

[DMRooper]

Hi all- we found our hen dead next to our house about 2 hours after letting them out of the coop this morning.

I did a full body check and she didn’t seem to be injured. She was 10 mos old, big and healthy. Her crop wasn’t full either. She was favored by our rooster according to the feathers on her back. No bullying issues.

The rest of the flock all seem to be healthy and doing fine.

Does anyone have thoughts as to what could’ve happened, or similar situations?

I’m super bummed.

 

[Tookie]

What do you feed them? Any treats? Could she have gotten into something?
You could send her in for a necropsy if you still have the body.

 

[DMRooper]

What do you feed them? Any treats? Could she have gotten into something?
You could send her in for a necropsy if you still have the body.

Unfortunately I don’t have her body. It was about to rain so we laid her to rest in the back of our property, far away from the flock.
Haven’t fed them anything but their usual feed and scratch.
I’m totally at a loss on figuring this one out. We also have 13 2 month old chicks houses with them and they are all well too.

 

[Tookie]

Unfortunately I don’t have her body. It was about to rain so we laid her to rest in the back of our property, far away from the flock.
Haven’t fed them anything but their usual feed and scratch.
I’m totally at a loss on figuring this one out. We also have 13 2 month old chicks houses with them and they are all well too.

Any odd behavior from her before she passed?

 

[DMRooper]

Any odd behavior from her before she passed?

None that I observed unfortunately.

 

[Tookie]

None that I observed unfortunately.

Any mites on your chickens?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry about your pullet.

Unfortunately, it would be hard to know why she died without necropsy.
Sudden death can be from a number of things, organ failure or something reproductive, but an internal exam would be needed. Since the body is no longer available, then you'll have to chalk it up to unknown.

If you happen to lose another in a short period of time, refrigerate the body and send it to your state lab for necropsy or if you are up to it, perform your own informal investigation. Take photos and we'll try to help you with what you see.

https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html