Trying to figure out why my chicken died

[cackilacky]

Sorry this will be a bit long, but want to include any clues that might be relevant. We were away for a week and a pet sitter stayed at our house and took care of our animals. We got home last night and I went to close the coop. It was very stormy, so I didn't open the hen house to check and make sure everyone was there, just shut the door. Today, when I went to let the girls out, I saw that our silver laced wyandotte was dead in the corner of the run, where the hens had made a little dust bath. She had obviously been rained on, so it was clear that she was already dead before the storm and had been there all night. I called the pet sitter and she said that Iris (dead chicken) was fine earlier in the day, but the pet sitter did notice that she went to sit in the dust bath. Before leaving town, I had noticed a few strange eggs (cracked or maybe w/out shells, plus a couple of tiny "fart" eggs) but everyone had been acting normal. The other thing worth mentioning is that when DH went to bury her, there was a normal egg under poor Iris. I feel like I've read things on BYC about eggs getting stuck or something like that...but not sure if this fits. I'm concerned this could be something contagious. The other hens do seem fine. Also, no evidence of a predator. Any ideas why my chicken died? Oh, and she was about 3 years old.

 

[2greenboyz]

Sorry to hear of your loss. It would be just a guess at why your hen passed, but seeing as she didn't make it out of the rain for the night she could have gotten hypothermia - lowered body temp, esp if her system was already compromised somehow. You don't mention any respiratory, digestive or other problems other than the suspicious eggs. I've had fart eggs, no shell eggs, etc., but unless you can tell who they came from you'll never know if that may have been indicative of a developing problem. You don't say how many other hens you have, but I would just keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary over the next 3 to 5 days. I really doubt anything contagious at this point so I would not worry. But the last thing I want to tell you is - while it is probably too late for Iris, a necropsy tells the story. Make sure if you do suffer another loss (and I certainly hope not), preserve the evidence and get it in asap for analysis. Sorry I could not help you more.....

 

[chkn]

She could have been egg bound or mite or worm infested. Did you get a chance to examine her good? You'll have to just observe chickens over time and make a note of it if someone isn't gobbling up food like the rest and watch their tails and combs and how they walk, et. al.

 

[cackilacky]

Thanks for the replies. I will read threads on mites and parasites. Not sure what the symptoms are. I have 4 other hens and they look fine to me, but I could be missing something. Thanks again.