Sudden Death

[Svyetii]

Hey everyone,

Well, I lost my first chicken due to unknown causes. She was a nine month old Cream Legbar. She was the runt of the chicks and has always been a bit more of a loaner. She typically hangs back from the group and surveys the scene before partaking in treats or when leaving the run to free range. As I understand it though, that’s not uncommon for cream legbars. She may have been a bit more reserved than usual over the last day or two, but nothing about her behavior really stuck me as odd or off. She seemed to be eating and drinking and scratching a usual. When I found her, she was laying on the floor of the coop. No obvious injuries, no weird smells or anything off. Everyone else seems happy and healthy. Any ideas what might have happened? Should I be concerned? Thank you!

 

[sourland]

It sounds as if failure to thrive caused by something congenital finally caused her death. If there is a plus to sudden death it's the fact that it is usually not caused by something contagious. Sorry for your loss.

 

[Svyetii]

It sounds as if failure to thrive caused by something congenital finally caused her death. If there is a plus to sudden death it's the fact that it is usually not caused by something contagious. Sorry for your loss.

Thank you. That’s comforting at least. Like I mentioned, aside from being a bit more standoffish, she wasn’t showing any signs of illness (changed comb color, discharge, sneezing, lethargy, not eating or scratching, etc.). But any time you find a dead animal it’s a bit nerve racking in case it could have been something contagious. I’ll be keeping a close eye on everyone else in case something I didn’t catch is afloat in the flock, but I’m hoping you’re right and it was just an unfortunate circumstance of her genetics. Poor girl was my favorite chicken.

 

[Catfishhenry]

I feel your pain. My favorite Rhode Island (Rosie) died suddenly today. Only 8 months old. Was fine yesterday, but was being bullied particularly the past couple weeks. I'm a newbie to chickens, so I'm scratching my head what happened so suddenly. My coop and run has a roof, they don't free range but have a lot of room - 132 sq feet run and 6x8 coop for 10 chickens. Purina Omega 3, fresh water, clean coop and run. I feel like I'm missing something for this to happen.