A tragic accident in the coop

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Lindeggs

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A tragic accident in the coop
« on: December 06, 2011, 03:20 »
I lost my Light Sussex Pearl today, as the result of what seems to be a tragic accident.  

My coop is a walk-in type (converted from an old bus shelter) so I could put the perches at whatever height I wanted to.  At 1200mm (4ft) I think the highest one was too high for a hefty girl like Pearl.

It seems she was trying to fly up to the perch instead of using the various platforms and ramps that are available.  She seems to have miscalculated and broken her neck - either against the coop wall or when she hit the ground.  Her only injury was her head caught under her body at an awkward angle, and a broken neck.

The perch is so high simply for my convenience.  I like being able to walk in and handle the girls after they have gone to bed, to check for anything out of the ordinary.  I didn't do that last night.

I will be rearranging the coop in the next couple of days to lower the heights of the perches (which involves lowering the nest box heights too).

Poor Pearl was such a pretty pullet with her snow-white feathers and little black scarf.   And she laid lovely pearly-white pullet-sized eggs.  This month would have been her first birthday.
« Last Edit: December 06, 2011, 03:24 by Lindeggs »

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compostqueen

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Re: A tragic accident in the coop
« Reply #1 on: December 06, 2011, 10:36 »
Oh dear, I'm so sorry to hear about poor Pearl. What a horrible thing to happen  :(  I hope once you've altered things about it can't happen to any of the others. Hindsight is a wonderful thing isn't it. Don't beat yourself up about it  :(

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Spana

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Re: A tragic accident in the coop
« Reply #2 on: December 06, 2011, 12:03 »
I think its as you say, just a tragic accident.  Dont think the perch hight has anything to do with it myself. 

I have perches at that hight and the LS have no trouble at all getting on to them.  In the wild they would be flying up into trees.

Just one of those things :( try not to beat yourself up over it, but i know it hard not to blame yourself when you lose a bird :ohmy:

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helens-hens

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Re: A tragic accident in the coop
« Reply #3 on: December 06, 2011, 12:36 »
Such a shame to hear about Pearl, it must have been awful finding her like that  :(.

Hens do sometimes misjudge things when jumping & flying about. One of mine, Harriet, was trying to fly from our utility room roof to a fence about 4 ft away. There is a steep drop inbetween of about 6 foot & she just couldn't quite make it (never been much of a flyer anyway). Luckily she was OK but I saw it happenning & it was horrible to watch! She has now found an alternative path back to the garden which doesn't require leaving the ground!

I know Pearl wasn't very old but I am sure she enjoyed a great life with you.

Helen

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joyfull

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Re: A tragic accident in the coop
« Reply #4 on: December 06, 2011, 12:37 »
I agree just an unforunate accident. Some breeds require lower perches such as orpingtons but light sussexs are not a heavy breed so should have been ok and as you say there are lots of platforms and ramps.
Staffies are softer than you think.

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diamond_lil

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Re: A tragic accident in the coop
« Reply #5 on: December 06, 2011, 13:22 »
So sorry to hear about Pearl.

We have roosting poles at 5 feet and the hens can reach them with no problem. Those who can't roost lower down. So don't beat yourself up. I guess she tried to aim high and missed.

We also have guinea fowl and once watched in amazement as one flew straight into a telegraph pole. It was in a large field, nothing in her way, plenty of time to avoid it but no, she hit it head on, slid to the floor, shook herself and walked away as though that was exactly her intention! Who can fathom the depths of the poultry brain?

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ANHBUC

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Re: A tragic accident in the coop
« Reply #6 on: December 06, 2011, 16:42 »
If you didn't see what happened she may have had a heart attack whilst roosting and just fell off the perch and landed the way you found her.  Sure it was nothing you have done.  Sorry for your loss.  :(
Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens!
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tstainesmoore

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Re: A tragic accident in the coop
« Reply #7 on: December 06, 2011, 16:45 »
Nothing to do with the perch hieght i dont think, but sometimes these things happen nothing you could have done. she could have just had a heart attack and fell.

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JaK

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Re: A tragic accident in the coop
« Reply #8 on: December 06, 2011, 19:28 »
So sorry to read the sad news about Pearl.  :(

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TeaPots

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Re: A tragic accident in the coop
« Reply #9 on: December 06, 2011, 22:57 »
I must add my condolences to you. The only thing I can possibly say, is that it certainly sounds like her death was sudden and she didnt suffer.  :(

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hillfooter

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Re: A tragic accident in the coop
« Reply #10 on: December 06, 2011, 23:26 »
Sorry to hear about Pearl Lindeggs and I'm a little surprised that this was as a result of an accident.  5 foot isn't that high in an outside environment although in the confines of a house with little room to fly it might be awkward.  LS are actually classed as a heavy breed though they don't usually get that big for a few years but a hen can easily reach 6 pounds. 

A heart attack is quite likely.  I'd say 5 foot is too high when jumping down and I'd be more concerned about foot injuries personally so reducing the height might be a good idea.

HF
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Lindeggs

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Re: A tragic accident in the coop
« Reply #11 on: December 06, 2011, 23:38 »
Thanks for your kind words, everyone.  It certainly was a nasty surprise to find Pearl like that yesterday.  It's nice to have people who understand. :)

I suppose it is possible she died of something else (like a heart attack) then toppled off the perch, but she was young and apparently fit and healthy so I hadn't really thought of that.  I suppose I will never know.

She was a "solid" bird though.  When I weighed her a few weeks ago she was 3.2 kg (about 7 lb) and I think she had filled out a bit more since then.

Anyway, whatever it was, she seems to have died quickly so hopefully didn't even know what hit her.  Also it's spring here and we've been having lovely weather with lush grass and plenty of bugs, so I'm sure she had a happy last day rosey about the place.

I've seen no clue in the behaviour of the other hens to suggest they have even noticed that Pearl has gone.  Yesterday morning before I found her they were just carrying on with their usual morning routine.  I thought her Light Sussex sister, Sylvia, might miss her last night at bed time but there is no sign of it!

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Lindeggs

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Re: A tragic accident in the coop
« Reply #12 on: December 06, 2011, 23:58 »
Here's Pearl enjoying the October sunshine.

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hillfooter

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Re: A tragic accident in the coop
« Reply #13 on: December 07, 2011, 00:02 »
Thanks for your kind words, everyone.  It certainly was a nasty surprise to find Pearl like that yesterday.  It's nice to have people who understand. :)

I suppose it is possible she died of something else (like a heart attack) then toppled off the perch, but she was young and apparently fit and healthy so I hadn't really thought of that.  I suppose I will never know.

She was a "solid" bird though.  When I weighed her a few weeks ago she was 3.2 kg (about 7 lb) and I think she had filled out a bit more since then.

Anyway, whatever it was, she seems to have died quickly so hopefully didn't even know what hit her.  Also it's spring here and we've been having lovely weather with lush grass and plenty of bugs, so I'm sure she had a happy last day rosey about the place.

I've seen no clue in the behaviour of the other hens to suggest they have even noticed that Pearl has gone.  Yesterday morning before I found her they were just carrying on with their usual morning routine.  I thought her Light Sussex sister, Sylvia, might miss her last night at bed time but there is no sign of it!

7.2 Kg is big for a pullet lindeggs.  This is more the weight I would expect of a 2 year plus hen.  Suggests the heart attack might not be far wide of the mark.  Fatty heart disease doesn't necessarily produce noticable symptoms and apparently healthy birds can just drop dead.  I've seen it happen with two hens and both times apparently happy healthy birds one minute suddenly keeled over and went through their death throes the next.

HF

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Oliveview

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Re: A tragic accident in the coop
« Reply #14 on: December 07, 2011, 13:50 »
We were given some day or so old chicks, they were smuggled out from the chicken factory, they only wanted males, all the hens were slaughtered after sexing.  The hens were really hefty birds, a few died suddenly for no reason, the remaining 2 out of the 19 were slaughtered yesterday at 2 years old.
Sorry about your hen, she was glorious.

Pamela



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