Rescue chicken just died of unknown reason

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Usually at age two reproductive problems or cancer causes them to die like yours did.

Battery hens are usually very high producing breeds so they have more issues than other breeds

A necropsy is the best way to find out the cause of death
 
Hello and welcome to BYC. Sorry to hear about your bird, but I hope that you enjoy your time here.

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Best wishes

Pork Pie
 
Oh, I'm so sorry you had to experience her dying right in your arms, that must have been heartbreaking. Please take comfort in knowing you gave her the best possible life in the end. :hugs

Like others have said, it's common for high production breeds to develop reproductive disorders that shorten their lives. I wish I had seen your post earlier... if you've refrigerated the body you can still have a necropsy done, or try to do it yourself. One of my hens died mysteriously last year... she was from my first flock that I tended to spoil with many treats and she was barely 2 years old. She had symptoms almost exact to what you described and I suspected egg binding or peritonitis because her lower abdomen was so large and seemingly impacted. So I photographed my whole amateur necropsy process, and kind folks here at BYC helped me to understand what might have happened. But in my bird's case the large abdomen was due to a very thick layer of visceral fat, and her cause of death was likely organ failure stemming from obesity. I ultimately learned that a proper diet is more important than giving the chickens everything they go crazy for.

I wish you the best of luck with your remaining flock.

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Sorry for your loss.

As others have mentioned, these battery hens were most likely bred for maximum egg output at the expense of a shorter life. The other day I was reading some background on life expectancy of my chicken breeds in my backyard flock. My hybrid egg production hen has an expected life of 2-3 years, whereas some of the heritage birds can live 5-6 years. So it's not just battery hens with short lives, it seems a number of hybrids have a short life.

I think you should be glad that you were able to provide some love and support for these former battery hens. Chickens have short lives, so I would suggest just enjoying them and caring for them the best you can do. You probably have done everything right and your birds are probably otherwise healthy (since you did not mention any other concerns). Focus your attention on the other girls and maybe plan for replacements if you plan on keeping chickens for longer. Best wishes.
 

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