If you'll recall, I started with three Easter Eggers raised from day old chicks and those three were the ones that had me find your forum. The first, Penny, of the three died in a hawk attack two years ago in November and then (coincidentally) November one year ago, Emma died of a heart attack (based on what the cam footage showed me) and just yesterday the last of the three I found her dead in the nesting box.
So, I wasn't surprised she had passed since she had slowed down eating food and spent a lot of time sitting in her nesting box or on the ground. When she first started the sitting in her nesting box I was thinking she was being broody. Then I wondered if she had an egg break inside her (she would still lay now and then and I was generally glad when she didn't because she had previously had issues with thin shelled eggs (one breaking internally a few years back, but she pulled through).
Anyway, I noticed her bottom was fouling with poop and I assumed (now realize, erroneously) that it was from her sitting all the time. My wonderful girlfriend helped clean off Mrs. Pennyfeather's bum while I held her. Back end didn't smell good, btw. Days later I saw her with the same problem but again, figured from all the sitting.
To get to the point of my question now.... So yesterday evening (yesterday, btw was a generally horrible day - my nearly 15 year old kitty passed away after a long illness
), I looked at one of the cams in her nesting box (she is by herself in the original coop corral for the original three - separate from my other flock) and noticed I didn't see any breathing and her head was in an odd position for sleeping, but hoped it was just an issue of camera angle. The reason I didn't go right out is that I was already in the process of wrapping my dear cat of nearly 15 years in a towel to take to the vet for cremation/urn services and I really didn't want any more bad news.
So, when I got back from leaving my departed kitty at the vet (for eventual cremation/urn) to pick the remains up later in two weeks - I looked again at the camera image of Mrs Pennyfeather still not moving. Headed out and sure enough she was dead.
So, here's what I wanted to put before the group so I could have some idea what it was I saw: So when I picked her up, I noticed (as most creatures do when they die) she had expelled what was in her intestinal tract onto the bedding. But in looking I saw what didn't really look quite like worms, but they appeared to be kind of 'skinny diamond shape' and they appeared to have some kind of legs, running around in the poop. When I mentioned it to my dad via text (lives in another state) he suggested that perhaps the creatures found there way to her poop from the ground - BUT the nesting box is elevated and the litter was recently changed by me. I think these creatures were inside my hen (god if I know what they are) and were what contributed to the butt fouling of loose stools on my hen.
Anyone have any idea what I could have been looking at??? I assume, as I said, these creatures were in her gut... Again she lives by herself in the orignal coop/run area that used to be occupied by her three run mates. Again, these things looked kinda tear-drop shape (skinny diamond shape) and unless my eyes were deceiving me (it was dark and I was using a flashlight,,,, they appeared to have 'legs'??? I didn't take any pictures as I didn't have my camera phone with me.
Any ideas folks?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts...
So, I wasn't surprised she had passed since she had slowed down eating food and spent a lot of time sitting in her nesting box or on the ground. When she first started the sitting in her nesting box I was thinking she was being broody. Then I wondered if she had an egg break inside her (she would still lay now and then and I was generally glad when she didn't because she had previously had issues with thin shelled eggs (one breaking internally a few years back, but she pulled through).
Anyway, I noticed her bottom was fouling with poop and I assumed (now realize, erroneously) that it was from her sitting all the time. My wonderful girlfriend helped clean off Mrs. Pennyfeather's bum while I held her. Back end didn't smell good, btw. Days later I saw her with the same problem but again, figured from all the sitting.
To get to the point of my question now.... So yesterday evening (yesterday, btw was a generally horrible day - my nearly 15 year old kitty passed away after a long illness
), I looked at one of the cams in her nesting box (she is by herself in the original coop corral for the original three - separate from my other flock) and noticed I didn't see any breathing and her head was in an odd position for sleeping, but hoped it was just an issue of camera angle. The reason I didn't go right out is that I was already in the process of wrapping my dear cat of nearly 15 years in a towel to take to the vet for cremation/urn services and I really didn't want any more bad news.So, when I got back from leaving my departed kitty at the vet (for eventual cremation/urn) to pick the remains up later in two weeks - I looked again at the camera image of Mrs Pennyfeather still not moving. Headed out and sure enough she was dead.
So, here's what I wanted to put before the group so I could have some idea what it was I saw: So when I picked her up, I noticed (as most creatures do when they die) she had expelled what was in her intestinal tract onto the bedding. But in looking I saw what didn't really look quite like worms, but they appeared to be kind of 'skinny diamond shape' and they appeared to have some kind of legs, running around in the poop. When I mentioned it to my dad via text (lives in another state) he suggested that perhaps the creatures found there way to her poop from the ground - BUT the nesting box is elevated and the litter was recently changed by me. I think these creatures were inside my hen (god if I know what they are) and were what contributed to the butt fouling of loose stools on my hen.
Anyone have any idea what I could have been looking at??? I assume, as I said, these creatures were in her gut... Again she lives by herself in the orignal coop/run area that used to be occupied by her three run mates. Again, these things looked kinda tear-drop shape (skinny diamond shape) and unless my eyes were deceiving me (it was dark and I was using a flashlight,,,, they appeared to have 'legs'??? I didn't take any pictures as I didn't have my camera phone with me.
Any ideas folks?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts...
