Possibly egg bound?

[Pennymac02]

One of my six month old buff orpingtons died yesterday. She had seemed lethargic since Saturday (Two days), but was eating and drinking. She never did develop a red wattle and I thought she may have been just developmentally delayed or something. She was always smaller and less social than her sisters, and had never laid. My other hens all have bright red combs and are already laying, they seem as healthy and right as rain. Was she perhaps egg bound with her first egg? Are some birds just not physically capable of growing up to be layers? All of my chickens are vaccinated, they are on organic layer feed, have fresh water, and my coop is clean. No sign of illness or mold anywhere.

One thing that did happen was that my dog was outside with them on Saturday. Normally she leaves the chickens alone and normally I supervise when they are in the yard together, but I let the dog out and fell asleep reading in a chair for about half an hour. I heard some irritated clucking and when I went outside the flock was in the garden with ruffled feathers and were a little upset. My littlest girl, though, was huddled in the coop, terrified. I took her out and checked her over, she had no visible injuries. But she seemed to be more traumatized than the other girls. Is it possible that she was just so scared she got sick and died?

Any help or thoughts would be appreciated. Meanwhile, I'm keeping watch to make sure my other hens dont get sick. Thanks in advance.

 

[Eggcessive]

It can be common to lose a hen at this age, and it could be any number of reasons from a reproductive disorder, to heart or kidney issues. For some reason, it seems to happen at the point of lay. Your state vet in the US can do a necropsy on a dead chicken to find a cause of death if the body is refrigerated, not frozen. Sorry for your loss. Here is a link for state vets: http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf

 

[Pennymac02]

Thank you, Eggcessive. This is exactly what I was wondering. If there's such a thing as a "runt" of a litter for chickens, my little Omelet was it. I think she just wasn't able, for what ever reason, to mature appropriately.