Why did my Rhode Island Red died last night?

[kandp]

I found my Rhode Island Red dead in the coup this morning. She had a 3 inch long slash running the length of her neck. She laid an egg yesterday and I think she seemed fine, so I was very shocked and sad to find her dead.

I have 4 other chickens (2 silver-gray dorkings, 1 blue andalusian, 1 jersey black giant). All are about 7 months old. Yesterday I only found one egg and it was laid by the Rhode Island Red. This is unusual as I have been getting 4-5 eggs a day since they started laying a month ago.

I didn't find any evidence of a predator getting into the coup, but I was in a hurry to leave for work so I didn't carefully inspect. I couldn't find any other evidence of injury besides the long cut on her neck. It didn't appear that the other chickens had been pecking at her. There were no stray feathers in the coup. Could she have cut herself on a piece of sharp chicken wire and then bled to death? Could she have a disease that would spread to the others? Could she have eaten something that caused her to die suddenly?

 

[oesdog]

Sounds like she may have cought herself on something. Have you checked the coop for anything sharp like a nail sticking out???? It is odd that she only had the one gash as a preditor tends to do a lot more damage than that. They also tend to take bits and not leave you with an intact chicken unless disturbed. My guess is the gash may be the issue. She could have caught herself and fallen and broken her neck. I lost a lovely hen for no reason. One day she was fine the next dead on the coop floor. She had gotten spooked and flew up and bashed herself off the coop roof and broke her darn neck.

Oesdog - hope you get to the bottom of it.

 

[kandp]

Thanks for the feedback. I wish I new what happened for sure....maybe then I could protect the others in the future. I feel like an irresponsible "parent".

 

[TeamChaos]

I am sorry for your loss and I hope you find the answer too. have you had a chance to take a good look around the coop for anything sharp she may have gotten cut on? I'm sorry to ask the gruesome, but did it look as if she had bled out?