RIP Chickaletta

[SemiSweet2391]

My EE hen Chickaletta died today. When I found her, she had a bunch of feathers around her. I noticed she had this bald spot. She didn’t have it before; it’s noticeable enough that I feel confident I would have noticed it. Is it possible the other hens pulled out feathers after she died? Is that a thing chickens do? She had no other injuries that would lead me to suspect a predator.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My EE hen Chickaletta died today. When I found her, she had a bunch of feathers around her. I noticed she had this bald spot. She didn’t have it before; it’s noticeable enough that I feel confident I would have noticed it. Is it possible the other hens pulled out feathers after she died? Is that a thing chickens do? She had no other injuries that would lead me to suspect a predator.

I'm sorry to hear about Chickaletta

It's possible the others may have plucked some feathers out when she died, I've never seen mine do it, but anything is possible.

Do you have a rooster?

The only way to know why she died would be to have a necropsy to see if a pathologist can find anything. If you wish to do that, then send the body to your state lab for analysis.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

R.I.P., Chickaletta
I loved that name and I'm sorry for your koss.

 

[SemiSweet2391]

I'm sorry to hear about Chickaletta

It's possible the others may have plucked some feathers out when she died, I've never seen mine do it, but anything is possible.

Do you have a rooster?

The only way to know why she died would be to have a necropsy to see if a pathologist can find anything. If you wish to do that, then send the body to your state lab for analysis.

Ok, thanks for your help and advice. We don’t have a rooster, but I have seen our oldest hen mount the others. I thought they were starting a molt until I saw her do that. Could that play a role in the health of my other birds?

 

[SemiSweet2391]

R.I.P., Chickaletta
I loved that name and I'm sorry for your koss.

Thanks so much. She was a very pretty bird. Not as friendly as her namesake but we loved her!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Ok, thanks for your help and advice. We don’t have a rooster, but I have seen our oldest hen mount the others. I thought they were starting a molt until I saw her do that. Could that play a role in the health of my other birds?

Sometimes a hen will mount others as a show of dominance, the feather loss pattern on her back may be due to mounting, it's hard to know.

An internal examination is really the only way to hopefully know why she died. So many things can go wrong with chickens.