Hi!
Here is a thread concerning an one-year-old hen that died suddenly...
She was a Golden Cuckoo English Marans named Pierrette.
A very beautiful girl, with a very "Marans-ish" personality... but maybe a hybrid, since she had only laid cream-coloured eggs...?
But whatever...
So, this Pierrette...
For several nights : she had been sleeping together with a rooster in an anti-predator coop connected to an anti-predator run.
So no predator could enter in the run or in the coop, and thus threaten her life or the rooster's life when they were sleeping...
Now...:
...One evening, Pierrette was sitting in her coop; and the next morning, she was found dead - laying on her back IN THE RUN, feet in the air...
Taking note of the fact : this same morning, there were ONLY the rooster's droppings in the coop...
So : Pierrette clearly did NOT sleep in the coop during the night, in spite on the fact she was inside - ready to sleep - the previous evening...
Knowing, also : the other chickens AND the ducks, not far away from her, were very vocals, seeming alarmed, during this same night...!
Thus, my question : could Pierrette have been scared by something during the night, so have got out of her coop in the dark AND have tried to get out of her RUN, and... I don't know... die from fright?
Would a hen that died from fright FALL ON HER BACK?
...She was a very, VERY healthy girl!
No lices, no mites, no worms, no diseases, no lethargy, etc...
She was only isolated in a small run for the time being because she accidentaly tore off a claw : since it was better to keep her from free-ranging for a few days in order to prevent her from re-opening her wound, it was decided to keep her in a very small run in which a paralysing rooster was already using... (Paralysing NOT due to Marek - probably just the aftermath of a stroke)...
But her wound was not infected : the bleeding was stopped, and the foot was cleaned everyday, then carefully rubbed with Cade Oil. (And with Cade Oil, there was absolutely NO risk for her wound nor for her health...)
...What I suspect is :
1 - a fox, or a hawk, or a marten, or something... came in the garden during the night, and tried to get in the runs to attack the birds - it would explain at least why the chickens and the ducks sounded so alarmed;
2 - the predator scared Pierrette, so she got out of her coop (during the night), and tried to get out of the run;
3 - since Pierrette was not able to get out of the run, she panicked and just... died from fright?
...But why would she fall on her back...?!!
(NOTE :
The rooster in the same coop than Pierrette could not have been in the run in the morning even if he wanted to, since - because of his condition - he can NOT even get out of the coop without human help. And he is not particularly looking traumatized, so it is hard to tell if he was also scared during the night or NOT...)
...What to think?
Has Pierrette really died from fright?
(I actually think Pierrette could have died from fright not because she died suddenly and the birds sounded coincidentally alarmed during the night, but because she died suddenly during this night, in the run and NOT in the coop.)
(Also : I can't tell for sure, really, but Pierrette looked to have a broken neck - what would be impossible for her to do so by herself in the run...
But don't take my word for that : it could just have looked like a broken neck because of the fact her body was already cold and rigid in the morning...)
Here is a thread concerning an one-year-old hen that died suddenly...
She was a Golden Cuckoo English Marans named Pierrette.
A very beautiful girl, with a very "Marans-ish" personality... but maybe a hybrid, since she had only laid cream-coloured eggs...?
But whatever...
So, this Pierrette...
For several nights : she had been sleeping together with a rooster in an anti-predator coop connected to an anti-predator run.
So no predator could enter in the run or in the coop, and thus threaten her life or the rooster's life when they were sleeping...
Now...:
...One evening, Pierrette was sitting in her coop; and the next morning, she was found dead - laying on her back IN THE RUN, feet in the air...
Taking note of the fact : this same morning, there were ONLY the rooster's droppings in the coop...
So : Pierrette clearly did NOT sleep in the coop during the night, in spite on the fact she was inside - ready to sleep - the previous evening...
Knowing, also : the other chickens AND the ducks, not far away from her, were very vocals, seeming alarmed, during this same night...!
Thus, my question : could Pierrette have been scared by something during the night, so have got out of her coop in the dark AND have tried to get out of her RUN, and... I don't know... die from fright?
Would a hen that died from fright FALL ON HER BACK?
...She was a very, VERY healthy girl!
No lices, no mites, no worms, no diseases, no lethargy, etc...
She was only isolated in a small run for the time being because she accidentaly tore off a claw : since it was better to keep her from free-ranging for a few days in order to prevent her from re-opening her wound, it was decided to keep her in a very small run in which a paralysing rooster was already using... (Paralysing NOT due to Marek - probably just the aftermath of a stroke)...
But her wound was not infected : the bleeding was stopped, and the foot was cleaned everyday, then carefully rubbed with Cade Oil. (And with Cade Oil, there was absolutely NO risk for her wound nor for her health...)
...What I suspect is :
1 - a fox, or a hawk, or a marten, or something... came in the garden during the night, and tried to get in the runs to attack the birds - it would explain at least why the chickens and the ducks sounded so alarmed;
2 - the predator scared Pierrette, so she got out of her coop (during the night), and tried to get out of the run;
3 - since Pierrette was not able to get out of the run, she panicked and just... died from fright?
...But why would she fall on her back...?!!
(NOTE :
The rooster in the same coop than Pierrette could not have been in the run in the morning even if he wanted to, since - because of his condition - he can NOT even get out of the coop without human help. And he is not particularly looking traumatized, so it is hard to tell if he was also scared during the night or NOT...)
...What to think?
Has Pierrette really died from fright?
(I actually think Pierrette could have died from fright not because she died suddenly and the birds sounded coincidentally alarmed during the night, but because she died suddenly during this night, in the run and NOT in the coop.)
(Also : I can't tell for sure, really, but Pierrette looked to have a broken neck - what would be impossible for her to do so by herself in the run...
But don't take my word for that : it could just have looked like a broken neck because of the fact her body was already cold and rigid in the morning...)