Shock from a hawk? Or something bigger?

[gretchkin]

Thank you FoodFreedomNow for your concern and encouragement. Unfortunately she passed in the night, as I suspected she might. I'm sure the first bird you lose is the hardest, and it is part of learning to be a better caretakers. I just really wish I'd noticed she was ill before the hawk incident. I weighed her post-mortem and she was only 2.25 lbs, which is grossly underweight. So she was definitely ailing for a long time. I wish I'd recognized the signs as more than just molting.

As a preventative to protect the other chickens in case Shirley did have something that could spread I did a full clean out of litter (straw) in their coop/nests and turned over the straw/soil in the run. I also sanitized the waterer and added ACV. Both seem strong and healthy, but I will be keeping a close eye on them!

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Thank you FoodFreedomNow for your concern and encouragement. Unfortunately she passed in the night, as I suspected she might. I'm sure the first bird you lose is the hardest, and it is part of learning to be a better caretakers. I just really wish I'd noticed she was ill before the hawk incident. I weighed her post-mortem and she was only 2.25 lbs, which is grossly underweight. So she was definitely ailing for a long time. I wish I'd recognized the signs as more than just molting.

As a preventative to protect the other chickens in case Shirley did have something that could spread I did a full clean out of litter (straw) in their coop/nests and turned over the straw/soil in the run. I also sanitized the waterer and added ACV. Both seem strong and healthy, but I will be keeping a close eye on them!

My condolences on the loss of Shirley. Don't beat yourself up - animals (especially prey animals) are masters of not showing illness or injury, so it can be a challenge to identify when something's going on that requires intervention. These kinds of situations become "lessons learned"...I've certainly had my own. In my experience, it creates a little healthy paranoia.

Good idea to sanitize the environment as a preventative measure. I hope both of your other girls stay strong and healthy, and I also hope you can take some comfort in the knowledge that Shirley isn't suffering.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Sorry for your loss.

You could still see about getting a necropsy for diagnosis. It could rule out possible contagion. And the you might know what you are dealing with if you see it in the future. She could have even had internal digestion problems or other. Most vets will charge. But there are some states that will do it for cheap or free, if you haven't already done something with the body. It would probably need to be refrigerated.

Subtraction is the hardest part of chicken math. It's OK if you need to cry.

We all do sometimes.

At the very least... I would take a fresh sample from your girls and have it tested for parasites to find out if you need to treat, since it's suspected as a contributing factor to your loss. I would try to get 1 from each girl, like where they roost first thing in the morning and kind of smash it together like one, in a sandwich bag. That way the sample is combined since you would have to treat both anyways. This is how we test our goats because sometimes it just isn't realistic to test everyone.

Hope your girls stay well!