No symptoms, but Ethel is dead.

[Old Mrs. MacDonald]

We took 4 of our 9 chickens to the county fair. Ethel and the rest were left at home.

Tuesday she was fine.

Thursday she was sitting at the wall of the coop like she was laying an egg. She didn't get up for treats which wasn't abnormal.

Saturday she was dead in the nesting box.

No egg block. No impacted crop. No obvious respiratory issues. No sign that anything was wrong.

The rest of the flock seems fine.

Any ideas???

- Missing my fluffy grey silkie hen....lots.

 

[terryg]

This sort of sudden chicken hen is, sadly, not uncommon. Without a necropsy, there's no telling what happened. Sometimes there's a long-term disease that you weren't aware of, like cancer. Sometimes, the hen died because she simply gave out. In my experience this is never contagious. If you have another hen die, then there are missing clues.