Sudden death in silkie

[ahappycamper]

I had a silkie that recently passed away for reasons unknown to me. We had a very hot week but she had been through much hotter weather in the past. She had water and plenty of shade and the rest of the hens did fine except for her. I didnt notice she had any off behavior except she was losing more feathers and then boom, in 2 days, shes dead when i check the chicken yard and didnt even make it to her roost the previous night. I thought maybe a racoon or predator but i see no signs of wounds. She always was missing some feathers but she would do well. Laid an egg almost everyday but this time before she died, she definitely lost more feathers

I did see a black spot on her though and i cant tell if thats a bruise or just part of the decaying process. By the time i found her, there were already ants and bugs around taking care of her body. Maybe it gives some insight as to how she died.

She was only 2 and like i said, she has been through way hotter weather and the rest of the hens are just fine.

She was also really broody a couple of weeks before. Often at night i would find her sleeping in the nesting box and i would relocate her to the roosts

Warning: graphic photo of her when i found her

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry for you loss.

Sadly, the only way to know what happened would be to send the body to your state lab for testing.
If you lose another bird in a short period of time, refrigerate the body and make arrangements to send it in for necropsy.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I had a silkie that recently passed away for reasons unknown to me. We had a very hot week but she had been through much hotter weather in the past. She had water and plenty of shade and the rest of the hens did fine except for her. I didnt notice she had any off behavior except she was losing more feathers and then boom, in 2 days, shes dead when i check the chicken yard and didnt even make it to her roost the previous night. I thought maybe a racoon or predator but i see no signs of wounds. She always was missing some feathers but she would do well. Laid an egg almost everyday but this time before she died, she definitely lost more feathers

I did see a black spot on her though and i cant tell if thats a bruise or just part of the decaying process. By the time i found her, there were already ants and bugs around taking care of her body. Maybe it gives some insight as to how she died.

She was only 2 and like i said, she has been through way hotter weather and the rest of the hens are just fine.

She was also really broody a couple of weeks before. Often at night i would find her sleeping in the nesting box and i would relocate her to the roosts

Warning: graphic photo of her when i found her

I’m really sorry that you lost your hen! Our two year old silkie hen is also struggling. We have Marek’s and seem to have losses of hens to the disease in spring when they start laying again. I’m not sure if that’s our silkie’s problem or if she has something else going on. I’m already dreading the heat and trying to keep the birds cool. At any rate, agree that you’d need a necropsy to know what happened to your hen, and am again sorry for your loss.