alas poor indiana....

[mr darcy]

Hello everyone, will just introduce myself quickly before asking hundreds of questions!! Mr Darcy by the way is the name of our cockerell, we thought he was a she (at four weeks when we got 'her'...)and so she started off as Darcy Bussel...anyway...we're the proud owners of MR Darcy, Scarlet O'Hara and until this morning, Indiana Jones that's what i'm coming too, I found her dead in the nest box this morning. she was 24 wks had started laying ten days ago and laid double yolked eggs every two days, the eggs were rather large, do you think TOO large i.e Egg bound? the last three days she didn't lay, and had lost a few feathers on her back, apart from that seemed ok. I feel so sad, having to hide it from my daughter today as it's her birthday
we live in france it's rained continuously for the last week and the hens are always out and about even in the rain, I feed them corn and layers mix, the rest is their own forage. does anyone know what could have killed her? i examined her when I found her, very messy bum, but no blood or egg visible. Oh dear, poor thing...

[Suechooks]

Oh poor you. What a sad way to begin your forum-ing. Sounds like your hen hadn't got her egg laying quite into sequence so maybe the final egg was just too big and got stuck. Hens do just die though for no obvious reason and I believe it can happen when they start laying. Don't beat yourself up about it.
There are some folk on here with lots of experience who will I'm sure have ideas too though without a post-mortem I doubt you'll ever know for sure.
Welcome to the vine.

[RichmondHens]

The only way to know for sure if she was egg bound is to do a post mortem (her oviduct will be crammed full, with the possible problem egg blocking). She may well have been egg bound, but you cannot rule out other things too. As Sue says, chickens do "just die" sometimes, and most of us don't really want to spend out on expensive lab tests to find out why, unless a highly infectious disease is suspected.

[frias]

Hi and welcome to the vine. If Indiana Jones had a messy bum is does sound as if she had problems with a broken egg perhaps. I'm not very experienced myself but my vet told me that a cockerel needs about 10 hens to keep him happy and if Indiana had a feathers missing on her back it might be that Mr Darcy has been paying her a lot of attention. I'd get some more hens or poor Scarlet will be worn out!
Where in France are you? My sister lives in Poitou-Charente and she keeps telling how nice the weather is.

[Eco-Chic]

Oh, how sad. Poor Indiana.

I hope you manage to hide it from your daughter for the rest of the day so it doesn't ruin her birthday.

[Snadger]

Sorry to hear about Indiana!

Over the three years I've had three die on me. The last one was quite recent and like yours for no apparent reason?
Don't do what I did though and get a dozen to replace the one that died!

[mr darcy]

Thankyou so much for the kind words, had to pretend all day that nothing had happened so my daughter wouldn't find out (on her birthday) she wanted to check for eggs when she came home from school, was hard to fob her off, have had a good cry now they are all in bed! yes I know it's a bit wet of me but really do love my hens!! (and mr darcy!) had to laugh at the comment about not buying a dozen to replace Indie, as it's market on weds and the chicken man will be there, had crossed my mind...especially as it's now been mentioned that poor Scarlet might be rather 'over-attended' by mr darcy!! well think I'll wait a bit til Ive put up my bigger house as at the moment they are in little hen-tractor ( didn't realise they would grow to be so huge, they are enormous!!)with free access to the garden all daylight hours, and it would be too small, so mr d will have to wait for his harem!
think it was egg bind because everyone of the five she laid in her short but happy life were double yolk and huge, very round in shape, couldn't fit them in an eggbox! wish i'd kept one now, sadly the last one went into a quiche last night...well sorry for the long essay, promise not to waffle next time!

[Eco-Chic]

You're bereaved. You are entitled to waffle.
You need to get more wives for Mr. Darcy to spare poor Scarlet and to distract young birthday girl

[Dashy]

I'm very sorry about little Indiana. I think the future little chooks will be very lucky to have you as their mum.

[mr darcy]

Thankyou!
Mr D is being restrained with Scarlet, but still keeps going back to see where indie has got to, he even followed me back to the chicken tractor this morning telling me off all the way! have now moved the chicken tractor to another spot and will get just one more point of lay from the chicken man tommorrow, can I just put the new girl straight in with them??? don't want another tradgedy!

[frias]

One lone hen might get bullied. I would get 2 so they can share the bullying. Put them all together at night. Could try spraying them all with a light vinegar solution so they all smell the same and hopefully in the morning they will all get on. That's the theory anyway!

[mr darcy]

One lone hen might get bullied. I would get 2 so they can share the bullying. Put them all together at night. Could try spraying them all with a light vinegar solution so they all smell the same and hopefully in the morning they will all get on. That's the theory anyway!

I only have one hen and mr D,not several, so would that make a difference?

also, are some breeds kinder in nature than others?

[Suechooks]

I'd still be inclined to go for 2 for the same reasons as Frias. Never had a cockerel so I don't know if he will control things or whether he'd be inclined to have a go too. As for breeds - again I haven't any experience of pure breeds but my Warrens all seem to get on well with each other.

[Eco-Chic]

Have you space for more? Mr. Darcy may tire out 3 laydees.

[mr darcy]

Have you space for more? Mr. Darcy may tire out 3 laydees.

ooh lala!!!