Mrs

[thelurch]

Let my 5 out of the cube this morning and 4 came running out to eat the warm mash, I assumed one was in the nest box but to my horror I looked through the hole into the roosting bars and there she was flat on her face spreadeagled out, cold as a stone.

 

Seems really odd as all hens had been healthy prior to today, getting 5 eggs every day. No sign of mites, lice or worms.

 

Poos are all nice and firm, no blood.

 

I removed her and put her in a bucket in the shed, checked her vent and it was fine, not red or swollen.

 

Seems a mystery, but the other 4 are visibly shaken today by the death. She wasn't top hen so we will see if the group dynamic changes

 

Apart from the vet disposing of her, what are the other ways to get rid of the body?

[Egluntyne]

You can double black bag it and put it in the bin or you can bury it. The trouble with the letter is that hungry foxes may well dig the body up again, so heavy boulders on the spot are a good idea.

 

Defra prohibit the burning of dead animals other than in licensed incinerators.

[Plum]

Sorry to hear the news . A vet disposed of mine and didn't charge me.

 

I've had one that died suddenly like that and there was no indication of what happened. Could be any number of problems

[Ain't Nobody Here]

What a shame, I'm so sorry .

 

I don't have the space to bury them so I use the binbag method - feels really mean, especially if collection day isn't for a while but I try to harden my heart .

[catherinedon]

really sorry to hear that

[gongladosh]

Really sorry to hear about your hen!

 

When one of mine died, the other hen went away into a spare Cube that we had to be on her own for a while. For half an hour she sat clucking away to herself (I'm pretty certain she was crying as she wasn't laying at the time).