Unsecure chicken perches

[freya_chick]

Betty, our blue Orpington Bantam went to sleep last night and didn't wake up this morning - she was dead in the nesting box when we went to let them out - what could have caused her death and do I need to watch out for anything else with the other girls? She didn't seem to be under the weather or anything, it was quite sudden.

 

Thanks

 

Freya

[LottyJ1]

How old was she?

[freya_chick]

Just over one, so it shouldn't be old age! She'd shown no signs of illness at all - was completely her normal self

[HennyPenny59]

Very sorry to hear about Betty, it must have been quite a shock.

 

Ive heard that an unexpected death in a hen can be due to them having a seizure or a heart attack .. Also, I know they can conceal illness very well, so she could well have had a problem that you were never going to find out about.

[jennydavies]

So sorry to hear this has happened to you as well. Last year my "mummy's girl" hen, Fleur, died during the night. There were no symptoms of illness at all, she had been a picture of good health during the day. I went to check on the girls as I always do before going to bed and there was such a commotion going on in the henhouse. Fleur had just simply dropped dead but as she fell, she took the roosting perch with her and it had come out of the bracket dislodging everybody that was roosting on it. The girls were really in a state of shock and all flapping about in the dark. We took Fleur into the garage, there were no injuries or any outward indications of a problem - she had quite literally dropped dead, bless her. We have never got to the bottom of it, I can only say they must suffer from heart failure. I feel so very sad for you. x

[Redwing]

Its just one of those things sadly

 

Sometimes its heart connected, sometimes its the fact that the bird was sick early in life, as a chick or even didnt hatch quite right, there is usually some underlying weakness

 

Sometimes its just random

 

Its surprisingly common

[LottyJ1]

It happened to my friends hen also.

All I can say is its sad but at least its quick for them to go in there sleep.

[coco]

I had a pekin that I found dead in the run one day, no signs of naythig wrong. The only thing I coulde put it down to was that she had been a sickly chick.

[Olly]

Sorry - it just happens with hens sometimes. If she hadn't been looking poorly, then it's unlikely that she had anything infectious

[Random_Girl66]

So sorry Freya. I can understand how you must be feeling as my little mottled pekin, Layla, died in my arms this afternoon. She had been fine earlier and then this afternoon took herself off away from the others and hid under some bushes. By the time I got to her she was practically gone - I couldn't do anything except wrap her up in towel and cuddle her. She was only a baby really. I had one go suddenly last year too. As others have said it is just something that does happen surprisingly frequently in the chicken world. At least they were only poorly briefly.

 

I will be keeping a close eye on the others but Olly's words give some comfort - if they weren't showing signs of anything then probably not infectious.