First Loss… Why Did She Pass So Suddenly? EYP?

[chooki]

She was 1.4 years old and stopped laying eggs 6–8 months ago.

I am sorry to hear of your loss.

By calculation, she has stopped laying in her first year, that usually indicates problem with her health. Did you investigate why she had stopped laying so early?

I have learnt many things through years of my chicken raising/keeping, I am sure you will gain knowledge as you go as well.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Did you investigate why she had stopped laying so early?

How would one investigate such a thing?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Or ... am I hijacking the thread. Never mind.

 

[YaySlee]

I am sorry to hear of your loss.

By calculation, she has stopped laying in her first year, that usually indicates problem with her health. Did you investigate why she had stopped laying so early?

I have learnt many things through years of my chicken raising/keeping, I am sure you will gain knowledge as you go as well.

Yes, she laid her first batch of eggs when she reached laying age. She was egg-bound once, but after an Epsom salt bath, she laid the egg, although one end of the shell was soft. After that, she stopped laying for a while, then laid a fairy egg, and nothing more. I made sure she was getting all her nutrients and gave her weekly baths. She was a happy, healthy chicken who displayed nesting behaviors every day without producing eggs. She would even come out of her nest in the coop and sing the egg song.

I didn’t think much of it at the time, though I had a feeling in the back of my mind that she might have been dealing with reproductive issues. This was my first time owning a chicken, and I hope to learn from this experience so I can better recognize and address such issues with future chickens. The vet in me is now regretting not doing a necropsy on her but I didn’t have the heart to dig her back up. I let her rest.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Wonder if she was laying internally. Poor thing, glad she is at rest. Do you have other chickens or was she an "only"?

 

[YaySlee]

How would one investigate such a thing?

From what I understand while I was in vet school and studying for my boards exam, most of the time it could be a nutritional factor like calcium deficiency or something to do with lighting. I live in Florida, I didn’t think too much of it because my hen wasn’t a laying breed and sometimes depending on the seasons, they stop laying too. Seeing her happy and healthy I didn’t do much investigating. I made sure she was at least getting her calcium.

 

[YaySlee]

Wonder if she was laying internally. Poor thing, glad she is at rest. Do you have other chickens or was she an "only"?

Yea… reading up on everything this past day, I think it’s a hard yes that she was laying internally with no external signs like water belly or lash eggs.

Or maybe liver failure of some sort, you never know if she got into anything while foraging that was toxic and that’s why her stool was bright yellow.

She was my only chicken. My dad found her as a tiny chick, abandoned by her mother or left behind in the parking lot of a job site. She was only a few days old, so I took her in and raised her. She was both an indoor and outdoor chicken—I’d let her sleep inside randomly, and I’m at least comforted knowing her last night was spent with me. I never left her side, and I know I gave her a longer life than she would have had if my dad hadn’t picked her up that day.

Here’s a picture of her.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Whereabouts in this world are you located? I hope you'll continue to be a part of this community and learn all you can about chickens in your chosen profession. There is an absolute dearth of avian veterinarians, especially those specializing in chickens. Most vets think of them only as livestock, worth only a few dollars, and not at all as pets that people care about and are emotionally invested in. I've seen posts where people with access to knowledgeable vets have spent hundreds of dollars or more on veterinary care for their chickens. Many of us would if we could, but there are often no chicken-focused veterinarians available. Please, please, consider, if not specializing in chickens, at least becoming knowledgeable enough about them to be able to serve the byc community, and encourage your colleagues to do the same. At one time veterinarians only treated large livestock, like cattle, horses, sheep, goats and pigs, and not cats or dogs. But the industry changed and grew. Believe me, there is a need and a demand for poultry veterinarians.

 

[YaySlee]

Whereabouts in this world are you located? I hope you'll continue to be a part of this community and learn all you can about chickens in your chosen profession. There is an absolute dearth of avian veterinarians, especially those specializing in chickens. Most vets think of them only as livestock, worth only a few dollars, and not at all as pets that people care about and are emotionally invested in. I've seen posts where people with access to knowledgeable vets have spent hundreds of dollars or more on veterinary care for their chickens. Many of us would if we could, but there are often no chicken-focused veterinarians available. Please, please, consider, if not specializing in chickens, at least becoming knowledgeable enough about them to be able to serve the byc community, and encourage your colleagues to do the same. At one time veterinarians only treated large livestock, like cattle, horses, sheep, goats and pigs, and not cats or dogs. But the industry changed and grew. Believe me, there is a need and a demand for poultry veterinarians.

I’m located in Miami, Florida, which isn’t exactly the ideal place for livestock, but wild chickens have definitely taken over the streets here—that’s how Lucy came into my life. After experiencing the joy of raising a chicken as a pet and seeing how many people keep backyard chickens as part of their families for companionship, eggs, or even food, I’ve developed a strong interest in learning more about them.

For now, I’ll stick around and try to help with simple situations while I keep learning. Hopefully, one day, I’ll have a small flock of my own. Trust me, I wish more vets specialized in animals beyond cats and dogs. When Lucy’s situation happened, I texted all my close vet friends, but none of them knew what was wrong—I actually knew more than they did. Once I pass my exam and start practicing, I plan to include chickens in my practice and provide care that’s accessible and cost-friendly.

Hopefully you saw my updated reply on your last comment. I added a picture of her. Thank you for taking the time to comment on this thread

 

[BigBlueHen53]

She was a beauty! I wish you all the best in your chosen career and encourage you to follow our Educators on the threads here, you will learn so much. Look for a little black "badge" beside their names that says "Educator," some I depend on most are Wyorp Rock, Eggcessive, azygous, aart, coach723, (these folks esp for injuries and ailments), RidgeRunner (behavior) U_Stormcrow (nutrition), Shadrach (roosters) and DobieLover (housing among other things). There are many, many knowledgeable people here, rich in experience, and all more than willing to share and help the "newbie" any way they can. Please make yourself at home. Oh, and if you want to "tag" or call anybody into your thread, just type their name with an @ symbol before it and no space between.