Polish Crested Hen Died of Unknown Causes

[fluffychicken24]

Recently, my 8 month old polish crested hen died. She had been acting odd all day, and so we decided to try and help her. She was breathing really hard and seemed like she was trying to push something out. There was yellow-ish poop around her vent.

It began to feel as if she was trying to push something out. She was trying very hard!! Then foam began to come out of both her mouth and vent. We tried pushing her onto her other side in a somewhat more comfortable position, if she were to be laying an egg. Then she just pushed her legs out far and died.

Does anyone know what was wrong with her? She had not layed any eggs yet, but the rest of the hens in her batch had been laying for about a month. Did that have anything to do with it? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Mykee]

Maybe she was egg bound. That's what it sounds like, like she was trying to lay her first egg and couldn't. It's not too unusual for new layers to lay eggs too big for them, and then they get stuck. Did she act uncomfortable the day before she died? If it was egg binding, I wouldn't worry too much about them, but definitely keep a close eye on them.

 

[fluffychicken24]

She was acting a bit sleepy the day before. But that's it. Is there anything I can to do to prevent egg binding in the future?

 

[Mykee]

Not really. It's the hen's problem when she lays too big of an egg. But if you watch your flock and notice any strange walking behaviours, inability to poop, etc, check for egg binding. I will post how to deal with it later.