Why did my chicken die??

[WellingtonCoop]

Hi all!
I was so sad to discover one of my 2yr old Bielefelder hens dead in the coop this morning. Nestled into the corner at a funny angle. No signs of illness or injury previously. It looks like she fell off the roost (only 1.5 feet high) and got wedged between the feeder and the walls, OR she crawled into a cozy space to pass away.

We introduced 4 new adult birds to our coop (to add to our existing 4 Bielefelders) a couple of weeks ago. Did the “look don’t touch” method for over a week and everything went extremely well, aside from a few scuffles and lost feathers to the dominant girls from each group. They really seemed to get along fairly well despite working out their natural pecking order here and there.

I know chickens are so sensitive. Could she have died from the stress?? We lost her sister in the exact same way last year. Am I doing something wrong? They were both so young!

We have a great, comfy coop with run, lots of fresh veggies, herbs and layer feed, oyster shells, grit, the whole set up. I’m so worried that I’m making a major mistake somewhere with their keeping, but have no idea where! Do we not clean the coop enough?? It’s gotten a bit stinky in there since the weather warmed up but we planned to clean it this week.

Thank you all so much for your insights

 

[dennisma1]

Hi all!
I was so sad to discover one of my 2yr old Bielefelder hens dead in the coop this morning. Nestled into the corner at a funny angle. No signs of illness or injury previously. It looks like she fell off the roost (only 1.5 feet high) and got wedged between the feeder and the walls, OR she crawled into a cozy space to pass away.

We introduced 4 new adult birds to our coop (to add to our existing 4 Bielefelders) a couple of weeks ago. Did the “look don’t touch” method for over a week and everything went extremely well, aside from a few scuffles and lost feathers to the dominant girls from each group. They really seemed to get along fairly well despite working out their natural pecking order here and there.

I know chickens are so sensitive. Could she have died from the stress?? We lost her sister in the exact same way last year. Am I doing something wrong? They were both so young!

We have a great, comfy coop with run, lots of fresh veggies, herbs and layer feed, oyster shells, grit, the whole set up. I’m so worried that I’m making a major mistake somewhere with their keeping, but have no idea where! Do we not clean the coop enough?? It’s gotten a bit stinky in there since the weather warmed up but we planned to clean it this week.

Thank you all so much for your insights

Your set up sounds fine.. I've had that happen too, the seemingly healthy chickens that drops dead. I had one die in the nesting box with her head under her wing like asleep.. another I think had heat stress and like yours seemed to have keeled over on her perch. I assume she was laying ok? Your coop is ventilated? Dont know much about the breed. It is a bummer. I feel like a failure to when they up and die. usually stressed chicken will be breathing through mouth I think you would have noticed.

 

[LaFleche]

For how long did you quarantine the new hens prior to adding them to your flock?

 

[WellingtonCoop]

For how long did you quarantine the new hens prior to adding them to your flock?

We did a separate quarantine for nearly two weeks. They were able to see each other but not interact physically. The new girls seemed incredibly healthy after inspection, and still do! It’s so weird

 

[WellingtonCoop]

Your set up sounds fine.. I've had that happen too, the seemingly healthy chickens that drops dead. I had one die in the nesting box with her head under her wing like asleep.. another I think had heat stress and like yours seemed to have keeled over on her perch. I assume she was laying ok? Your coop is ventilated? Dont know much about the breed. It is a bummer. I feel like a failure to when they up and die. usually stressed chicken will be breathing through mouth I think you would have noticed.

This is comforting! Thank you so much for your response. It really does feel like failure. We definitely do our very best to care for them, so it’s just so disappointing and sad when one drops dead for apparently no visible reason. She was a good girl

 

[neo71665]

For how long did you quarantine the new hens prior to adding them to your flock?

Well asked.

 

[LaFleche]

We did a separate quarantine for nearly two weeks. They were able to see each other but not interact physically. The new girls seemed incredibly healthy after inspection, and still do! It’s so weird

Quarantine should be done in such a way that the new chickens are kept for 4 weeks as far away as possible from the existent flock, meanwhile you check and treat them for external and internal parasites etc., carefully washing your hands and disinfecting everything used for the newbies, changing shoes etc. after tending to the ones in quarantine.

So I assume that you did not really quarantine, but had them in a see but no touch zone.

I am sorry you lost your hen.

 

[cherrynberry]

Quarantine should be done in such a way that the new chickens are kept for 4 weeks as far away as possible from the existent flock, meanwhile you check and treat them for external and internal parasites etc., carefully washing your hands and disinfecting everything used for the newbies, changing shoes etc. after tending to the ones in quarantine.

So I assume that you did not really quarantine, but had them in a see but no touch zone.

I am sorry you lost your hen.

Well said!

 

[CluckerFamily]

It could be the quarantine not being long enough but that doesn’t explain why her sister died last year in the same way.
By your description, it sounds like your feeder is under the roost. If you have food in the run, there is no need to have one in the coop also.
I personally would remove anything under the roost to prevent anyone from hitting the object if they fall or fly down.

 

[WellingtonCoop]

Quarantine should be done in such a way that the new chickens are kept for 4 weeks as far away as possible from the existent flock, meanwhile you check and treat them for external and internal parasites etc., carefully washing your hands and disinfecting everything used for the newbies, changing shoes etc. after tending to the ones in quarantine.

So I assume that you did not really quarantine, but had them in a see but no touch zone.

I am sorry you lost your hen.

Thanks so much. That makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, we didn’t have that option as this was an unexpected emergency rescue / re-homing situation for the 4 new hens. My other 3 hens seem unaffected after the death of their sister, however, and the new birds are in wonderful shape, showing no signs of any illness. Truthfully, I’m starting to think my original girls might not have been well beforehand.

Do you have any suggestions for treating the entire group for parasites, etc? I was going to add diatomaceous earth to their feed, along with a homemade garlic paste for worming.

So grateful for your insights!