4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[revesby37]

Hettie (a Gingernut) died this morning. We got her with two others just before Christmas with our Eglu, and she's seemed as fit as the other two, apart from doing very runny poo (white - like milk) over the past week or so. This morning she was dead inside the nest box - no sign of trauma, just stiff. We're now wondering whether we did anything wrong. Last night was quite mild, compared with the past couple of weeks, but we did leave the Eglu door open. The Eglu is in a very sheltered spot in our yard, but could the cold/damp air have killed her? Needless to say, the kids are really upset!! Is it worth taking her to the vet for testing, or should I just bury her and get a replacement?

 

[Redwing]

I am very sorry to hear about your poor girl

 

Lots of us leave our Eglu doors open in all but the worst weather with no problems so I very much doubt it was that that killed Hettie

 

i don't really know what it could have been, chickens are very clever at hiding the fact that they are ill

 

If it was me and she had shown no signs of obvious illness I probably wouldn't probe much deeper and see it as a very sad one off

[Cooks]

so sorry for your loss

[Falkor]

So sorry for your loss

 

Perhaps give Omlet a ring and let them know if you only got her just before Christmas. They might be able to put your mind at rest.

[Plum]

Poor you, that's really sad.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

That's very sad, I'm so sorry . I'm sure it can't possibly have been anything you did. Don't blame yourself, these things happen. I hope your kids are OK, poor things .

 

I would tell Omlet, you didn't have her very long at all .

[Chickvic]

Sorry to hear about your loss

[Egluntyne]

Sorry to hear of you loss.

 

Sometimes they do die out of the blue for no apparent reason. Often due to heart failure.

 

You can arrange for a post mortem, but it will be costly.

 

I would spend the money on another chicken and it will help your children get over the shock.

[alih]

Revesby37, one of my Omlet chickens died in exactly the same way after I had had them only 3 weeks. I knew she hadn't been ill and think she just had heart failure in the night. It was December and I had left the door open but am sure it wasn't the cold - the eglus are perfectly warm enough in winter.

 

I rang Omlet and they were very sympathetic and offered me a new chicken but in fact I found one locally and Omlet refunded me the £10. I know it's not about the money but just wanted to reassure you that this does happen and it's not your fault.

 

Oh, and the other Omlet chicken I got is still going very strong indeed!

[Purplemaniacs]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your girl.

 

Chrissie

[Mrs AVP]

Im sorry to hear of your loss. You are not the only person this has happened to. I bought my hens with the Eglu just before xmas and my hen died, and there was another lady who bought at the sametime and hers died aswell. I personally think there must have been something wrong with the hens.