Sudden loss of our Chicken

Could anyone please help us understand how we lost of our lovely chickens just over 4 hours ago.


We found Matilda laid under the hen house asleep but she wouldn't move when called so we knew she was poorly.  She could barely open her eyes and was just floppy.  We got her into a box and rushed to the vets with her but she passed away on the way there whilst sat on my lap.  She had like a little fit and just went.  The vet carried out a postmortem for us and rang us a while ago to say she had died from a badly twisted gut which he said he had never seen in a chicken before.

We are so very upset at losing Matilda as we bought all 6 chickens at POL in August last year so they are still very young. 

How did this happen?  Could it have been prevented?  Would she have been in any pain?

sorry for this - it sounds like she has colic which I know horses and giant breed dogs can get. with our giant dogs we have to feed them with their bowl raised and have food available all the time so she doesn't gulp it down, not sure if your hen was guzzling her food down to quickly and therefor trapping air in her gut 

This is such a shame for you.

Chickens do have a naughty habit of dying at short notice. Sometimes mine have been poorly for a few days and then gone, but a couple have simply just been found dead for no apparent reason.

This has been bad luck for you.