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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2016 22:33:30 GMT -5
My first chicken death. One from the original 34 we hatched out two years ago. I have no idea what happened, but I found her feet up in the barn aisle tonight when I went out to do chores. No signs of trauma and a dog or something couldn't have gotten into the barn where she was. She was a big healthy looking hen. It made me sad.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2016 22:39:46 GMT -5
Awwww...I'm sorry. From the title, I thought it would be either a chicken or the character from Scooby-Doo.
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Virgil Showlion
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Post by Virgil Showlion on May 5, 2016 22:42:53 GMT -5
Sometimes even the smallest creatures find their way into our hearts. We nurture them, we watch them grow up, and they leave an indelible mark on our lives. Losing them is like losing a part of ourselves.
Honour Thelma in death as you honoured her in life. Get out the Shake n' Bake and don't let her go to waste.
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Post by milee on May 5, 2016 23:04:17 GMT -5
Oh, no! So sorry to hear about Thelma's passing. Given what you've described (no signs of trauma, healthy chicken), you might want to keep an eye on the rest of the flock for signs of disease. If any of the other ladies start looking sick, get them away from the rest of the flock immediately. Meantime, give the area they hang out in a good scrubbing ASAP. Focus especially on the common feeders, watering stations and roosting area/nest boxes. Move them all out and spray everything with a solution of 5% bleach diluted in water, let that sit for 10 minutes and rinse everything really well.
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Post by toomuchreality on May 5, 2016 23:19:02 GMT -5
Sometimes even the smallest creatures find their way into our hearts. We nurture them, we watch them grow up, and they leave an indelible mark on our lives. Losing them is like losing a part of ourselves. Honour Thelma in death as you honoured her in life. Get out the Shake n' Bake and don't let her go to waste. Silly me. Here I was thinking you had written such a nice empathetic reply. I'm sorry for your loss.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2016 23:27:25 GMT -5
I'm thinking heart attack or maybe egg bound. She was seriously flat on her back with her legs straight up in the air. For a minute I thought it was the rooster and rejoiced, but nope.
I'm hoping there wasn't rat poison somewhere accessible. I've been battling rats and putting some out, but under the rubber mats, not anywhere they could get at it, but if the rats drug it out...
Hard to sanitize the area. The stall maybe, but most of the barn is gravel floor and they're outside all day.
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Virgil Showlion
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Post by Virgil Showlion on May 5, 2016 23:38:53 GMT -5
Sometimes even the smallest creatures find their way into our hearts. We nurture them, we watch them grow up, and they leave an indelible mark on our lives. Losing them is like losing a part of ourselves. Honour Thelma in death as you honoured her in life. Get out the Shake n' Bake and don't let her go to waste. Silly me. Here I was thinking you had written such a nice empathetic reply. I'm sorry for your loss. From what I've read, chickens live about 6 years. If there's at least 34 of them, that means an average of six dead chickens a year for more than a decade. Getting attached to them seems like a recipe for heartache.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2016 23:58:16 GMT -5
Silly me. Here I was thinking you had written such a nice empathetic reply. I'm sorry for your loss. From what I've read, chickens live about 6 years. If there's at least 34 of them, that means an average of six dead chickens a year for more than a decade. Getting attached to them seems like a recipe for heartache. We only have 9 hens and the roo. Well, 8 hens now. The rest we gave away as chicks. She was only 2. Five of the 10 are named Thelma because those were all very similar color but I can tell them apart though. She always cracked me up. They'd all be going about their chicken business, but whenever I got near the feed container she was RIGHT THERE all excited waiting for me to open it. Her head was about level with the edge and she'd try to crane her neck over to watch me scoop out scratch. We have another hen that looks like hell. She is the one I wouldn't be surprised to find dead, but this one was fat and healthy.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2016 0:10:15 GMT -5
She also always kept really close eye on me when I was in the house. If she saw me on the porch she'd head over and hope I'd throw her a cheese stick. That's her right below the sliding door I'm standing by.
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Post by Knee Deep in Water Chloe on May 6, 2016 0:13:30 GMT -5
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Post by toomuchreality on May 6, 2016 1:52:07 GMT -5
She also always kept really close eye on me when I was in the house. If she saw me on the porch she'd head over and hope I'd throw her a cheese stick. That's her right below the sliding door I'm standing by. She looks really healthy. That's a great picture of her! I had no idea chickens ate things like cheese sticks! LOL I don't know a lot of people who own chickens. But the ones I do, have been very attached to them. Ferrets don't have a long expected lifespan either, but that doesn't stop people from having them as pets. I've had several. And every time I lose one, it breaks my heart.
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Virgil Showlion
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Post by Virgil Showlion on May 6, 2016 4:08:53 GMT -5
From what I've read, chickens live about 6 years. If there's at least 34 of them, that means an average of six dead chickens a year for more than a decade. Getting attached to them seems like a recipe for heartache. We only have 9 hens and the roo. Well, 8 hens now. The rest we gave away as chicks. She was only 2. Five of the 10 are named Thelma because those were all very similar color but I can tell them apart though. She always cracked me up. They'd all be going about their chicken business, but whenever I got near the feed container she was RIGHT THERE all excited waiting for me to open it. Her head was about level with the edge and she'd try to crane her neck over to watch me scoop out scratch. We have another hen that looks like hell. She is the one I wouldn't be surprised to find dead, but this one was fat and healthy. It sounds like she was special to you, hence FWIW I'm sorry for your loss. Don't beat yourself up over it. I think you're wise to search for any potential immediate causes, but it might also be a natural death. From the little reading I've done, fowl can be susceptible to respiratory illness and any number of congenital defects. It is kind of odd that she was lying prone with her feet up in the air when you found her. Is that naturally how a chicken would wind up if it fell over on its side?
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Post by Opti on May 6, 2016 5:34:14 GMT -5
RIP Thelma.
Are you relatively sure she couldn't have moved the mat and gotten to the rat poison? If she follows you around, she may have thought it was something good.
Sorry for your loss.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on May 6, 2016 6:58:48 GMT -5
Sorry mpl. Hugs for you, but not the other chickens!
I hope her death was just some freak thing.
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Post by giramomma on May 6, 2016 7:21:07 GMT -5
I'm sorry. It's hard to lose animals with lots of personality.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2016 7:41:48 GMT -5
RIP Thelma.
Are you relatively sure she couldn't have moved the mat and gotten to the rat poison? If she follows you around, she may have thought it was something good.
Sorry for your loss. No, she couldn't. Each 4' X 6' section is probably 150 pounds. It's really thick rubber. But, whatever is tunneling around below the coop sometimes leaves piles of gravel from underneath the mats by their holes. It's possible they kicked some out. It's not the pellets version of poison which the chickens would be eaten for sure, but these solid bricks the rats/mice have to chew on and I don't think that would be real tempting for a chicken. They're bright green too, so I would think I would notice one.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2016 7:46:08 GMT -5
It sounds like she was special to you, hence FWIW I'm sorry for your loss. Don't beat yourself up over it. I think you're wise to search for any potential immediate causes, but it might also be a natural death. From the little reading I've done, fowl can be susceptible to respiratory illness and any number of congenital defects. It is kind of odd that she was lying prone with her feet up in the air when you found her. Is that naturally how a chicken would wind up if it fell over on its side? I'm ok. It's just my first chicken loss, so it kind of threw me. I've been very lucky. No predator kills, no getting run over by cars, nothing until now. My aunt that took 15 of our chicks last year lost almost all of them over this past winter for no apparent reason. Just dead in the coop. The old ones (my hens mothers) all lived, but the young, but full grown ones died.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2016 7:48:24 GMT -5
I had no idea chickens ate things like cheese sticks! LOL OMG, they LOVE string cheese. They'll come peeling from across the yard if they hear a cheese stick wrapper being opened.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2016 7:50:55 GMT -5
MPL, when I butchered some of mine for the freezer, I found they were so fat there was fat encased around all their organs its a wonder they had lived. Since you say she loved to eat so she may have just had a heart attack. I think if I hadn't dressed mine out they would have.
I think of all the overweight people and how they likely look the same inside. If they could see how their organs get compressed and what they have to support I wonder if it could make a difference in their lifestyles or lack of. She really wasn't fat, but I'm thinking heart attack anyhow. I was reading online and it said they'll often end up on their backs legs up if it's heart attack. Not sure how they KNOW it was a heart attack, but I guess they do do a lot of chicken autopsies at the big poultry places.
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Post by Opti on May 6, 2016 8:15:51 GMT -5
RIP Thelma.
Are you relatively sure she couldn't have moved the mat and gotten to the rat poison? If she follows you around, she may have thought it was something good.
Sorry for your loss. No, she couldn't. Each 4' X 6' section is probably 150 pounds. It's really thick rubber. But, whatever is tunneling around below the coop sometimes leaves piles of gravel from underneath the mats by their holes. It's possible they kicked some out. It's not the pellets version of poison which the chickens would be eaten for sure, but these solid bricks the rats/mice have to chew on and I don't think that would be real tempting for a chicken. They're bright green too, so I would think I would notice one. I hope she didn't get any rat poison. And I hope it wasn't a heart attack from too many cheese sticks.
On a serious note, check out the link below. Its from NZ, but fowl cholera, might be something to check out. www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/nz-lifestyle-block/67471540/9-reasons-why-your-chicken-died . Fowl cholera
Also known as pasturella, this bacterial disease is far more common than you might expect. Spread by wild birds and rodents, it can appear as sudden deaths around point of lay (as young birds begin to lay, known as POL), with birds losing condition.
Commercial free range farmers should vaccinate their birds at point of lay as fowl cholera is easily spread from backyard flocks by sparrows and rats.
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Post by Opti on May 6, 2016 8:20:35 GMT -5
Crap. Maybe it was a heart attack?
Heart attack: Sudden death is a pretty well known syndrome among fast-growing broiler chickens. The birds die with a “short, terminal, wing-beating convulsion” and often flip on their back. The cause is a heart attack. Recent research suggests the heart attack is triggered by stress; the chickens seem predisposed to heart attacks because of microscopic lesions in the muscle of their hearts.
www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/sudden-chicken-death-zbcz1404.aspx
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on May 6, 2016 8:25:50 GMT -5
She also always kept really close eye on me when I was in the house. If she saw me on the porch she'd head over and hope I'd throw her a cheese stick. That's her right below the sliding door I'm standing by. I'm so sorry for your loss. She was adorable and sounds like she really bonded with you in that chicken way. And, at the risk of appearing insensitive, can I have your house and yard? My dream is to have a small farm in Maine, but Minnesota would work.
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Post by dannylion on May 6, 2016 8:31:32 GMT -5
Aw, I'm sorry to hear about the loss of Thelma. She was a beautiful chicken and obviously received much love and care. I'm sure she knew she had hit the chicken jackpot when she came to live with you.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2016 8:47:00 GMT -5
Aw, I'm sorry to hear about the loss of Thelma. She was a beautiful chicken and obviously received much love and care. I'm sure she knew she had hit the chicken jackpot when she came to live with you. We hatched her out on our kitchen table! Thelma's baby pic (I have no idea which one she is )
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Post by Value Buy on May 6, 2016 9:19:27 GMT -5
She also always kept really close eye on me when I was in the house. If she saw me on the porch she'd head over and hope I'd throw her a cheese stick. That's her right below the sliding door I'm standing by. She looks really healthy. That's a great picture of her! I had no idea chickens ate things like cheese sticks! LOL I don't know a lot of people who own chickens. But the ones I do, have been very attached to them. Ferrets don't have a long expected lifespan either, but that doesn't stop people from having them as pets. I've had several. And every time I lose one, it breaks my heart. Did you see Survivor last week? They have a pet chicken. The Vietnamese Survivor candidate does not believe in eating meat, loves all life including trees. The group discovered a huge, really huge, grub in the camp, and wondered if they should eat it for the protein or practice for the usually ugly food contest, which they have not had yet, which is strange, because you can get some really ugly items in Cambodia Anyway, they decided to give it to the chicken. He grabbed it, ran from them and swallowed it whole. Makes you want to re-think having boneless chicken breast in the immediate future
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Post by Value Buy on May 6, 2016 9:22:25 GMT -5
Sometimes even the smallest creatures find their way into our hearts. We nurture them, we watch them grow up, and they leave an indelible mark on our lives. Losing them is like losing a part of ourselves. Honour Thelma in death as you honoured her in life. Get out the Shake n' Bake and don't let her go to waste. Myself, I would need an exact time of death before I would go that route. If it happened early in the previous evening, the buggar is not a candidate for chicken salad
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2016 9:42:21 GMT -5
Sometimes even the smallest creatures find their way into our hearts. We nurture them, we watch them grow up, and they leave an indelible mark on our lives. Losing them is like losing a part of ourselves. Honour Thelma in death as you honoured her in life. Get out the Shake n' Bake and don't let her go to waste. Myself, I would need an exact time of death before I would go that route. If it happened early in the previous evening, the buggar is not a candidate for chicken salad And if her death was caused by rat poison probably not a good choice for dinner either.
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Value Buy
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Post by Value Buy on May 6, 2016 9:49:24 GMT -5
Myself, I would need an exact time of death before I would go that route. If it happened early in the previous evening, the buggar is not a candidate for chicken salad And if her death was caused by rat poison probably not a good choice for dinner either. I hope it did not happen. If she did, you have a larger problem. I hate to say it, but you must consider it. Infected eggs by possibly more than one chicken.
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Post by Tennesseer on May 6, 2016 9:50:01 GMT -5
minnesotapaintlady-are you not concerned with hawk (and other birds of prey) attacks what with the chickens roaming the yard (as depicted in your photo here).
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2016 9:56:16 GMT -5
And if her death was caused by rat poison probably not a good choice for dinner either. I hope it did not happen. If she did, you have a larger problem. I hate to say it, but you must consider it. Infected eggs by possibly more than one chicken. I'm not really worried about that. I can't imagine how much they would have to eat before it became an issue in the eggs. The poison is slow kill (Warfarin) and people take that as a blood thinner. Honestly, I don't even think it would kill the chickens to get it in small quantities, so I don't think that was it anyhow.
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