One of my hens died recently and I'm wondering what she could have passed from?

[RebeccaSilkies]

One of my hens Merlin recently passed and I'm unsure of why. One of the things I noticed leading up to her death is that her butt was lower than normally. She would also stay in the corner of the run for prolonged periods of time. Sometimes it looked as if she was sleeping. I didn't think much of it as it didn't seem like a big deal. It was odd yes but I didn't think it was potentially life threatening. A friend of mine that has chickens suspects that she might have been egg bound but I googled it and apparently egg bound chickens die within 24-48 hours and she was like that for a at least a week. Does anyone know what could have been wrong?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry to hear about Merlin.

It's very hard to know why a hen has died without further investigation like a necropsy. Usually this is done by a Pathologist at your State Lab. The Pathologist will look at the organs and the system and do some testing if necessary and give a report of his or her findings. Some keepers that have had chickens for a while, like me, will do their own informal investigation to see if we can find something obvious like liver disease, reproductive disorders, etc.

It would be just a guess, but if you noticed her butt was lower than normal along with sitting and sleeping/isolated from the flock, she may have had a reproductive disorder. Cancer, tumors, Salpingitis, EYP, Internal Laying, etc. are all reproductive problems that are common in laying hens and these conditions can make a hen feel bad. Sadly, there's no real treatment or cure for any of these and a hen will eventually succumb to the condition.

 

[RebeccaSilkies]

I'm sorry to hear about Merlin.

It's very hard to know why a hen has died without further investigation like a necropsy. Usually this is done by a Pathologist at your State Lab. The Pathologist will look at the organs and the system and do some testing if necessary and give a report of his or her findings. Some keepers that have had chickens for a while, like me, will do their own informal investigation to see if we can find something obvious like liver disease, reproductive disorders, etc.

It would be just a guess, but if you noticed her butt was lower than normal along with sitting and sleeping/isolated from the flock, she may have had a reproductive disorder. Cancer, tumors, Salpingitis, EYP, Internal Laying, etc. are all reproductive problems that are common in laying hens and these conditions can make a hen feel bad. Sadly, there's no real treatment or cure for any of these and a hen will eventually succumb to the condition.

Thank you for your insight I really do appreciate it. I'm pretty new to raising chickens so I don't really know what I should be looking for to know if there unwell or not. I'm upset that I didn't have the knowledge to help her but by the sounds of it there was really nothing I could have done about it. I've noticed that if something is even slightly off with a chicken their might be something wrong with it. And other times it's not obvious at all. Does it happen often in the beginning of raising chickens that you don't know why the died?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for your insight I really do appreciate it. I'm pretty new to raising chickens so I don't really know what I should be looking for to know if there unwell or not. I'm upset that I didn't have the knowledge to help her but by the sounds of it there was really nothing I could have done about it. I've noticed that if something is even slightly off with a chicken their might be something wrong with it. And other times it's not obvious at all. Does it happen often in the beginning of raising chickens that you don't know why the died?

Sometimes chickens can be good at hiding illness.

As time goes by and you become more familiar with your flock through observation and interaction, you will start to learn to notice when one is starting to feel unwell.
It's a process of learning, a lifetime of learning.