Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

After the worm discovery this morning, I noticed that one of the chickens didn't want to go out in the chicken tractor. She hadn't wanted to go into the coop last night either (and we had to chase her down to get her inside for the night), so I left her by herself for a while, and noticed that she was hunkering down, fluffed up, barely moving and closing her eyes. Oddly, her comb and wattle were a dark red, belying her condition.

When I finally caught her to examine (and she put up quite a fight). She felt light, her crop was empty and her oviduct was open. Unfortunately, although I was as gentle as I could have been, I fear that perhaps my handling of her didn't do her any good. We put her in the coop with some food and water, but as we walked away, we heard her crying out. When we looked in through the window, she appeared to be convulsing - and then she died and her comb/wattle turned purple .

She was barely two years old and I'm so sad.
Linda

Likely heart issues from the description. Unlikely you could do anything they hide illness so well :-(

Linda I'm sorry.

So hard to lose a young hen. I agree with KB, there probably was nothing you could do. They hide illness very well. Very sorry.

Sorry to hear.... It sucks. That was very likely a heart issue. They hide not feeling well very efficiently...

Thanks everyone. If it was a heart issue, there wasn't a thing I could have done. A few days before, I had noticed what a beautiful deep red her comb was, and thought she must have been very healthy....... She was the prettiest and a darned good layer .

Thanks everyone. If it was a heart issue, there wasn't a thing I could have done. A few days before, I had noticed what a beautiful deep red her comb was, and thought she must have been very healthy....... She was the prettiest and a darned good layer .