'Frozen' Chicken

Yesterday heralded a new experience for us.  The kids came in an said there was a chicken that seemed to be frozen and they thought she was dead.  I quickly went to investigate, hoping they were wrong.  Sure enough, just inside of the coop door was a dead chicken.  I was quite concerned as she wasn't dead three hours ago when I went in to collect eggs.  I wondered about natural causes versus disease.  Should a one year old hen be dead already? Was she contagious to the rest of the flock?  Phil didn't help alleviate my concerns any when he told me that the avian flu was killing off flocks of chickens and that was why egg prices had jumped.  Slightly panicky, I sent someone out every ninety minutes for the rest of the day to check.  If was a disease I sure didn't want dead birds just hanging around infecting the rest of the flock.  Everyone was alive and well come evening.

It's really unnerving to find a dead chicken and not know why.

Chickens run off and never seen again?  Mhmm, curious and frustrating for sure.
Dog attack?  Yep, been there done that, a few times.
Bantee chicken picked off by a hawk?  Yes, and subsequently dropped half eaten on property.  Excellent lesson on predator vs prey for the children.
Wing with a pile of entrails?  Lesson learned, even the free ranging roosters need to come in for the night to stay safe from the fox or coyote.

Loosing chickens to predators leaves me with a 'well that sucks' feeling, but at least I know what went down.  Finding that younger hen dead left me bewildered and unsettled.

Today when I went to check on them in the morning, one of the older hens was lying in a strange position.  My heart raced as I rushed into the run.  Just as I was ready to nudge her with my foot she woke up, freaked out, and flew off causing quite the commotion amongst the girls.  I'm starting to breathe a bit easier, and the high alert status has been downgraded to questioning concern.  Hopefully it was just a hen with a bad heart, or something akin to that, so that the rest of the flock can continue bringing us entertainment as well as eggs!