Unexplained death of beloved chicken

[BethLeopard]

One of my beloved chickens at one year old has mysteriously suddenly died. When I researched, I read that chickens are supposed to be vaccinated? Does anyone vaccinate their chickens?

 

[1muttsfan]

So sorry to hear about your hen. If she was not acting ill prior to dying, is is unlikely that she died from an infectious disease. You might want to monitor your other birds for a while for any signs of illness.

Unfortunate as it is, sometimes birds just unexpectedly die, and it may be hard to tell why - even with an autopsy.

 

[BantamLover21]

I'm sorry for your loss. Sometimes chickens just die for no apparent reason, due to an internal deformity or something like a heart attack. That is probably what happened to your hen--sad, but most likely unavoidable. Like 1muttsfan mentioned, if she was not showing signs of disease, she likely wasn't sick with something infectious.

As for vaccinating, yes, some people do vaccinate (including me). However, I only vaccinate for Marek's disease, which is a common disease that causes tumors and paralysis in young birds. Some birds are resistant, but many are not.

 

[BethLeopard]

Thank you for the input. I take my chickens very seriously as a family project and it may seem trivial but it is sad when you hand raise an animal and spend so much heart and effort and then find it deceased with no warning.

 

[LoneLayer]

we never have used vaccinations with our flock and they are all doing just fine! I have heard of there being strange defects because of the vaccinations so all we do is feed our chicks organic layer feed, and everyone says how they never seen such healthy chickens! Good Luck!