Think my hen is dying — help, please!

[lngrid]

coop d'etat 2 :

My husband just checked again and believes she has, in fact, died. I am devastated and would like to know what went wrong so we can prevent this from happening to our other two hens.

Thank you so much!

I am so sorry your hen died. I am no expert at all at chickens but I've read here that having a necroscopy done might find a cause of death. Your county agricultural extension agent should be able to put you in touch with someone who would do it for free, if you are a backyard owner. I've read it suggested to pack the chicken in a cooler with ice to keep it from decomposing before the necroscopy can be done.​

 

[coop d'etat 2]

Thank you for the advice. I really appreciate it. I'm going to look into a necropsy tomorrow morning.

 

[lildinkem]

Chickens nowadays are very inbred. Many do not have the genetics to fight off even a common cold like disease. I know you loved her. I would not take it to heart too much. You did nothing wrong. I too have had in the past birds die for seemingly no apparent cause. One died cause she was egg bound. She was an EE, and was a nice size one too. Just try to buy from reputable breeders. Ask around for advice who likes whom in the breed you choose to have. Even then, what appears to be a very well liked and reputable breeder, still may raise birds that are not as good against disease as we would like them to be. I like Orps, and have bought from many very well known breeders, only to be disappointed to see how weak they are against illness. And the ones who seem to be doing all the winning of shows are the ones who are the weakest against the disease. So ask around next time. Try to buy from people who have done this for decades. Those are the breeders who birds are very strong and resistant. Just seems that the old time breeders have it going on. Hope your other two stay healthy.

 

[OhMyItsAndyy]

I am so sorry for your loss! Losing her must be awful. *huggs tight*
I beleive she may have already been ill before she showed signs due to te fact they don't show any signs until it's almost too late, if not already, which is why you have to keep such a close eye on them in that sense, one sneeze, one lowered head etc.

As for the white eye, chickens have a little film inside their eyelid which is a white colour. She may have had that closed... It doesn't look very attractive though.

I hope you find the cause of death x

 

[seminolewind]

I agree with you, lildinkem. Chickens are so inbred-overbred-inbred, and mostly bred for more eggs or more weight faster. No one has ever bred for disease resistance.
It's sad, but chicken pets is a newish thing, now there's thousands of people who want their chickens to live a long time.

Coop, sorry for your loss.