What happened??? Found a dead chicken this am...:(

[blueberrychickens]

I found one of my soon to be 2 yr old GLW's dead on the coop floor this am. She showed no sign's of being ill in the days leading up to today. But there she was this am, dead on her side by the feeder. No signs of trauma either. No way for a predator to get into the coop & the other 11 coop mates all appear to be fine. She was one of my friendliest girls, always would push to the front of the door at night when I would close them up so she could get her nightly "feather ruffle" under her wings. I will miss her soooo much, this is the first time I've lost one of my girls......

I took her to the vet school so they can do a necropsy on her, hopefully they will have some answers as to what happened. I hope it's nothing contagious to the rest of the flock....I would be lost without my chickens!

 

[sourland]

From your description of the occurrence, I doubt that yoyu are dealing with an infectious situation. A quick guess would be that she had a heart attack. Yep, it happens to chickens too. When you get the necropsy results, please post them. Sorry for your loss.

 

[blueberrychickens]

I will post results & thank you....it was hard to put them to "bed" tonight knowing that she wasn't there to greet me at the door for her nightly ruffle...

 

[sourland]

It hurts any time we lose an animal, and when it is one of the 'special' ones --------------

 

[Hamstery]

I'm really sorry. It's so hard to lose an animal....especially not knowing the cause. I hope you find some answers.

 

[blueberrychickens]

Well I didn't hear anything from the vet school or the state inspector, so it must have been from natural causes.....

 

[lclough1998]

Well I didn't hear anything from the vet school or the state inspector, so it must have been from natural causes.....

I would follow it up with a phone call if you don't hear from them. Maybe some of the tests take longer to get results or someone else has to read and report the results. Good luck and so sorry you lost your little lovey! Take care

 

[MaKettle]

So sorry to hear it. I've had 2 do the exact same thing, including my Buff Orpington over Memorial Day weekend. It's so sad

 

[blueberrychickens]

I just heard from the state inspector, it was egg yolk peritonitis.....poor girl...
Glad it wasn't something contagious tho...

 

[n8ivetxn]