Sudden Death

[jazzpurr]

I have just lost my first adult Orpington.
They are 7 months old.
There were 13 of them.
They are all laying eggs.

I cleaned the coop this afternoon. Out with the
old pine shavings and in with the new. I dusted down the walls
and Shop-vac ed everything.
Fresh water and food.

I just saw her in there dead. It looked like her neck was broken
but I couldn't really tell. She was still warm.
They have their little spats but
it seems hard to believe they could break each others necks.

Can they fall and break their neck? The roost is about
4 Ft. of the ground.

Has this happened to any of you, this sudden death?

Thanks In Advance

 

[BeardedChick]

Yes - I have one that was almost 6 weeks and I think she hit her head in the brooder and died. She was a really nice big pullet. One of my best Delawares.

The other was a young turkey that didn't die suddenly, but he also had a neck injury of some type and we ended up euthanizing him.

I do think they can injure themselves jumping and die suddenly.

ETA, I am very sorry you lost your pullet.

 

[Jenski]

So sorry about your hen.

A roost that height could cause issues for older hens, who are heavier. She could have just had a bad accidental landing; I have heard of cases like that. Is the landing surface soft? If it isn't, you might have trouble with bumblefoot or other foot cuts/bruises from hard landings from a 4' perch.

 

[trishok8]

I'm sorry, that must have been so shocking to find her.

 

[Buff Hooligans]

We had a pullet die unexpectedly when she was about 9 months old. I came home from work and just found her in the run, all laid out, but with no blood, pecking marks, or indications of sickness.

Sometimes it just happens. Probably an internal issue that will never be figured out.

 

[greyfields]

sometimes, chickens just die