Why did two chickens die just before I butchered them?

[aart]

Hard to know just why they died....stress, heat or a combo.
Pics of your coop and nests might help solve the issue.
Must have been a shocker to find them like that, sorry for your troubles.
Don't beat yourself too badly, we all make mistakes.
How old were birds and were they healthy layers?

..... as well as pointers for what we could do next time.

Here's how I do it:
I remove the birds I'm gong to slaughter from the coop the night before and crate them with water but no feed to clear intestines. I use wire crates set up on a hammock to catch the poops, then slaughter the next morning

Garage is the abattoir.

 

[Chicken Heel]

Curious as to why slaughter hens that are only a year old. Were they non productive in terms of egg laying?

 

[hysop]

Curious as to why slaughter hens that are only a year old. Were they non productive in terms of egg laying?

I have dual purpose birds and I plan on hatching chicks next year in the late winter/early spring, let them lay all summer then eat them in the winter or when they stop laying for the year. But my “breeding” stock I will keep forever, but their offspring will have that fate.

I think Barred Rocks/Plymouth Rocks are considered dual purpose. So maybe that’s what they’re doing? But it is only the beginning of summer so I understand your question.

 

[Ruthster55]

It makes sense to slaughter 16-20-week old Barred Rock cockerels, but I wouldn't take a year-old hen for meat under ordinary circumstances. She's got a lot of eggs left to lay at that age.

Generally, in dual-purpose, it's implied that the hens usually stick around and lay eggs, while the cockerels and post-lay or unproductive hens are appropriate for meat.

Of course, there are sometimes unusual situations like where a breeder is getting out of one breed (Barred Rocks) and changing to another breed, so they need to get rid of what they were formerly raising, in this case, Barred Rocks.

Or maybe, a breeder is selecting for a high standard and culling some hens as well as most of the cockerels.

But those situations aren't common for the average backyard chicken keeper who might need to harvest an accidental cockerel once in a while but who keeps the hens for eggs.

 

[brycepj]

It makes sense to slaughter 16-20-week old Barred Rock cockerels, but I wouldn't take a year-old hen for meat under ordinary circumstances. She's got a lot of eggs left to lay at that age.

Generally, in dual-purpose, it's implied that the hens usually stick around and lay eggs, while the cockerels and post-lay or unproductive hens are appropriate for meat.

Of course, there are sometimes unusual situations like where a breeder is getting out of one breed (Barred Rocks) and changing to another breed, so they need to get rid of what they were formerly raising, in this case, Barred Rocks.

Or maybe, a breeder is selecting for a high standard and culling some hens as well as most of the cockerels.

But those situations aren't common for the average backyard chicken keeper who might need to harvest an accidental cockerel once in a while but who keeps the hens for eggs.

Thanks for the explanation. That’s roughly how I thought about it as well, but we planned to cull these two because of behavioral issues, not necessarily for the meat. We also want to expand our breeding program with desired breeds, and these were two of four that really don’t suit what we’re looking for.

 

[brycepj]

Curious as to why slaughter hens that are only a year old. Were they non productive in terms of egg laying?

In short, behavioral issues. Aggressive with other hens and very prone to laying eggs everywhere but the laying boxes and escaping high fencing. The rest of the flock used them consistently and tolerated ‘confinement’ on a 1 acre lot much better. These two multiplied my management time by 10x. We’re planning on increasing our flock with two breeds we like a lot more for our purposes, and culling hens that don’t fit the bill over time.

 

[Chicken Heel]

In short, behavioral issues. Aggressive with other hens and very prone to laying eggs everywhere but the laying boxes and escaping high fencing. The rest of the flock used them consistently and tolerated ‘confinement’ on a 1 acre lot much better. These two multiplied my management time by 10x. We’re planning on increasing our flock with two breeds we like a lot more for our purposes, and culling hens that don’t fit the bill over time.

Understood... reminds me of a free spirited Black Australorp hen I had over 40 years ago. She would fly over a 6' fence every chance she could but did lay in the coop with the other hens. She also would fly back into the lot at dusk to roost with her flock mates in the coop.

 

[Ruthster55]

In short, behavioral issues. Aggressive with other hens and very prone to laying eggs everywhere but the laying boxes and escaping high fencing. The rest of the flock used them consistently and tolerated ‘confinement’ on a 1 acre lot much better. These two multiplied my management time by 10x. We’re planning on increasing our flock with two breeds we like a lot more for our purposes, and culling hens that don’t fit the bill over time.

Stick around on BYC. Sounds like you have a lot of knowledge and experience.