Kitchen Garden Forum

We have had a couple of hens die 2/3 days apart. I am a bit stumped by this. Both birds had not displayed any symptoms, no sign of any scouring or visual signs on the birds themselves. prior to being found dead in the morning the had been behaving perfectly normally. The other birds in the flock that share the same run all appear fine. Everyone is eating and drinking normally. There is something here that I cannot put my finger on. could they have been poisoned by something? Or could something have kiled them, I am thinking stoat/weasel/rat here? Having said that, there appears to be no injuries, although I have seen rabbits killed by stoats/weasels without a mark on them. You thoughts please!

Sorry about your hens it must be quite worrying with no visible signs of what caused it. If you can't see any puncture marks I think I would investigate whether they had eaten something poisonous.

Have you still got the hens? It might be worth while cutting their crops open to see if there is anything you can identify still in there that could have caused it. Could they have unearthed a little store of rat poison that the rats had hidden under something? Otherwise, I've no idea. If it was only one it could have been natural causes, but two is puzzling. Did the other hens seem more nervous than usual, which sometimes indicates that a predator has been round?

I hope the others are all OK.

What colour are their combs? If pale, it could indicate red mite. Red mite runs them down and they can die very suddenly.
Hens are a bit like sheep, who know 101 ways to die - often surreptiously!

A Vet will do a PM for a reasonable fee

Vet and reasonable fee. Now there's words you don't often see together

Too right Alan, My neighbour once asked me where I was taking the dog and when I told him it was to the vets he said wouldn't it be cheaper to have it put down and buy a new one rather than paying for continued treatment.

It would certainly be cheaper to buy a new hen or two and save the vets fees so long as all the other hens still look healthy.