Sooo much pooping

[Eggstatic!]

I know this sounds like a strange question, i was wondering if chickens want to be in the dark or left alone to die or if it is not unusual for them to die in the run or garden. One of my chickens died today but she was in the nest box in the cube, i just wondered if this was normal. I think she was egg bound. I was even more upset because i asked my daughter to go to collect the eggs for me and she was the one to find her.

[mabelandflosmum]

Oh I'm so sorry for you and your daughter, I'm sorry I can't answer your question, I just wanted to give you some sympathy.

[Egluntyne]

It is quite common for them to die in the nest box. Usually heart attack related due to the stress of laying, or if they have an underlying but previously undiagnosed illness.

[Plum]

Sorry you lost one. Guess it's quiet and dark and more peaceful for her. One of mine died in the nestbox but I had put her there to rest when under the weather.

[Nicho]

Sorry to hear of your loss. Hope your daughter is not too traumatised.

[Eggstatic!]

Thank you all so much for your replies, daughter is coping well and chatting away about all the girls so i think she is handling it well. Just such a shame, she wasn't quite two yet. RIP Alice.X

[Olly]

Sorry to hear that - it's a horrid shock to find, isn't it. I think dying on the nestbox is not uncommon, for the reasons given above. One of mine was just lying in the run when I found her, though, as if she'd fallen over where she was.

[Chook n Boo Mum]

I've never "found" one of my girls........the ones I've lost have all been indoors in sick bay, so they were warm and peaceful, in my arms following a dog attack or "helped" by a very kind friend

 

I think they like to go somewhere quiet if they feel bad if possible, so the rest of the flock don't attack them.

 

One of my Black Rocks, Thyme passed on to the Great Free Range Paddock overnight, so I know how you are feeling

 

RIP Alice & Thyme

 

Sha x

[Seagazer]

I'm so sorry Eggstatic! and Chook n Boo mum about your girls.

[WitchHazel]

So sorry to hear about your loss.

 

I've found a dead chicken before, and it was a definite shock!

 

I suspect that where they go to die actually depends on the circumstances. One of my Girls died recently, and she spent her last day sitting quietly in the sun. She was still with us at bedtime and she wandered off in the direction of the Cube and I picked her up and put her in the nestbox so she could pass away quietly. I checked an hour later and she was gone (that wasn't the one that gave me the shock, as I knew what I was likely to find)

[Mollie333]

I suppose chickens like to die in a peaceful way.

Im unsure cause my 2 birds we're killed by the fox..