Okay so call me crazy but I am sitting here in tears because Floppy died. Who is floppy you say? She was one of my favorite chickens. I mentioned her before - she had a floppy comb so the family who had her before me named her Floppy. Floppy was only about 4 years old? So it wasn't her time to go yet.

So that's 3 chickens in the past 2 months that have dropped. The last 2 were hens that appeared healthy. I have no idea what's going on and some say it may be the heat we've had? :bawl:

Okay so call me crazy but I am sitting here in tears because Floppy died. Who is floppy you say? She was one of my favorite chickens. I mentioned her before - she had a floppy comb so the family who had her before me named her Floppy. Floppy was only about 4 years old? So it wasn't her time to go yet.

So that's 3 chickens in the past 2 months that have dropped. The last 2 were hens that appeared healthy. I have no idea what's going on and some say it may be the heat we've had? :bawl:


Are you registered? You should report the unexplained deaths so that they can test her to see if she has anything bad. If you need the number, let me know.

yes what's the number?

Are you registered? You should report the unexplained deaths so that they can test her to see if she has anything bad. If you need the number, let me know.

Chickens are prone to heart attacks when they are extremely upset.
you mentioned snakes in the coup not too long ago.

Is it possible that the chickens are being terrorized by some outside force like a snake or something?

Yes I killed 1 snake, but I know there are others. We saw one last week. My suspicions range from the snake(s), heat, and also wonder if they are catching and eating mice that have eaten poisoned bait? Those are the possibilities I have been able to think of so far.

Chickens are prone to heart attacks when they are extremely upset.
you mentioned snakes in the coup not too long ago.

Is it possible that the chickens are being terrorized by some outside force like a snake or something?

It's probably the heat. I lost a year old layer to it earlier this summer.

I took her in the house to cool down yesterday evening just in case that was the issue, not long after that she appeared to convulse a few times and died in my arms.

It's probably the heat. I lost a year old layer to it earlier this summer.

nevermind - I looked it up online and left a message for the guy who handles that. If anyone needs to know:

410-841-5810 Animal Health

yes what's the number?

Sorry to hear about Floppy :frown:

Okay so call me crazy but I am sitting here in tears because Floppy died. Who is floppy you say? She was one of my favorite chickens. I mentioned her before - she had a floppy comb so the family who had her before me named her Floppy. Floppy was only about 4 years old? So it wasn't her time to go yet.

So that's 3 chickens in the past 2 months that have dropped. The last 2 were hens that appeared healthy. I have no idea what's going on and some say it may be the heat we've had? :bawl:Feed Floppy to the bull shark.

I spoke to the animal health guy and I decided to not take Floppy to Salisbury for a necropsy as it sounds like she and the other hen died of a heat-related stress condition that may have been complicated by encounters with the snakes. Chickens get stressed easily and are known to die of stress induced heart failure.

Floppy was one-of-a-kind! I'm going to really miss her.

I spoke to the animal health guy and I decided to not take Floppy to Salisbury for a necropsy as it sounds like she and the other hen died of a heat-related stress condition that may have been complicated by encounters with the snakes. Chickens get stressed easily and are known to die of stress induced heart failure.

Floppy was one-of-a-kind! I'm going to really miss her.

I spoke to the animal health guy and I decided to not take Floppy to Salisbury for a necropsy as it sounds like she and the other hen died of a heat-related stress condition that may have been complicated by encounters with the snakes. Chickens get stressed easily and are known to die of stress induced heart failure.

Floppy was one-of-a-kind! I'm going to really miss her.

4 yrs. is a long time for a present day hen. I don't know what she was, but the hybridized breeds these days are not bred for long life; they are bred for production. After 3 yrs. of production I am not surprised to begin seeing hens drop, usually from what appears to be heart failure. Add to that the heat this summer and you have recipe for claiming older hens. We only lost 2 of our 53 this summer so we were lucky but this batch of hens is 2 yrs. old or less.

My flock ranges in age from 1 to 4 years old (maybe a couple are 5 - maybe Floppy was 5 not 4?). I was reading online that chickens can live 7-10 years.

4 yrs. is a long time for a present day hen. I don't know what she was, but the hybridized breeds these days are not bred for long life; they are bred for production. After 3 yrs. of production I am not surprised to begin seeing hens drop, usually from what appears to be heart failure. Add to that the heat this summer and you have recipe for claiming older hens. We only lost 2 of our 53 this summer so we were lucky but this batch of hens is 2 yrs. old or less.

Poor Floppy... was she one of those boneless chickens? I always buy the chicken without bones.

Okay so call me crazy but I am sitting here in tears because Floppy died. Who is floppy you say? She was one of my favorite chickens. I mentioned her before - she had a floppy comb so the family who had her before me named her Floppy. Floppy was only about 4 years old? So it wasn't her time to go yet.

So that's 3 chickens in the past 2 months that have dropped. The last 2 were hens that appeared healthy. I have no idea what's going on and some say it may be the heat we've had? :bawl:

Sorry you lost Floppy. It's always tough to lose a member of the family :huggy:

Poor Floppy... was she one of those boneless chickens? I always buy the chicken without bones.
remember this one ?

She was named Floppy due to her floppy comb.

Poor Floppy... was she one of those boneless chickens? I always buy the chicken without bones.

:huggy:.... sorry im late....

check your email!! :coffee:

Sorry to hear about Floppy.

I walked into the coop yesterday and looked at Sweetie and called her Floppy - sheesh. Just shows how much I ALWAYS spoke Floppy's name when I went into the coop. I'm sure I'll do that again. I hope Sweetie doesn't feel offended lol.

Sorry to hear about Floppy.

I hope to one day find another "mouthy" hen to rescue/adopt. I really enjoyed having a talkative hen in the flock.

:huggy:.... sorry im late....

check your email!! :coffee:

I hope to one day find another "mouthy" hen to rescue/adopt. I really enjoyed having a talkative hen in the flock.

im not mouthy? :drama:

You're NOT ??!!! Oh you've changed? :killingme

im not mouthy? :drama:

I hope to one day find another "mouthy" hen to rescue/adopt. I really enjoyed having a talkative hen in the flock.

So sorry! I know how some chickens are a great pet. :huggy: My hen Funky is a talker and always comes running when I call her.

You're NOT ??!!! Oh you've changed? :killingme

:tantrum......... its all turbos fault.... :cds: that cross dressing punk :cds:

awww ........

So sorry! I know how some chickens are a great pet. :huggy: My hen Funky is a talker and always comes running when I call her.

yeah and now that Floppy is gone Turbo will have less competition for Prince's attention ...... bet I catch those 2 behind the milk crate more often now? Prince just thinks he's HOT crap since the other rooster died. Has all the hens to himself now. Well at least when cross-dressing Turbo isn't flaunting his ... err ... her stuff.

:tantrum......... its all turbos fault.... :cds: that cross dressing punk :cds:

My flock ranges in age from 1 to 4 years old (maybe a couple are 5 - maybe Floppy was 5 not 4?). I was reading online that chickens can live 7-10 years.

That would be exceptional for a modern hen. I don't have a lot of experience with heritage breeds so they could live longer. But more than 4 or 5 for a regular production type hen is unusual - not unheard of, but unusual....

That would be exceptional for a modern hen. I don't have a lot of experience with heritage breeds so they could live longer. But more than 4 or 5 for a regular production type hen is unusual - not unheard of, but unusual....

I'm going to disagree. If you're talking about a production leghorn, then generally they don't live past 3 because they're culled for lack of production. I wouldn't be surprised to see that same hen live much longer in a less stressful environment. Many hens like Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks can definitely live to ripe old age if they're taken care of. Stress and heavy production reduce the lives of hens, so hens in a backyard type environment will definitely live that long.

Based on what she looked like (and her sisters that I still have), I believe that Floppy was (or in part) Buff Orpington (sp?).

I'm going to disagree. If you're talking about a production leghorn, then generally they don't live past 3 because they're culled for lack of production. I wouldn't be surprised to see that same hen live much longer in a less stressful environment. Many hens like Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks can definitely live to ripe old age if they're taken care of. Stress and heavy production reduce the lives of hens, so hens in a backyard type environment will definitely live that long.

I finally got curious enough to see why this wasn't in the computer and technology forum and now...I know. :bawl:

I miss her already.

I finally got curious enough to see why this wasn't in the computer and technology forum and now...I know. :bawl:

I miss her already.

Sorry I didn't get you the number. My harddrive died and I have been offline for a while.

My mother's hen (was mine when I lived home) lived to over 18 years of age. She was an Aracana. All of the other hens I had died off one by one but that old hen lived so very long. After all of her buddies had died, she started hanging around my mother's german shepherd. She would sleep in his doghouse with him. We were surprised about how long she lived. Never in my wildest dreams did I think a chicken would live so long. She was very special. It was very sad when she finally passed.