# How can a chicken break it's neck?



## pickapeppa (Jan 1, 2005)

I found one of my hens lying on the roost this evening when putting them in for the night. She was lying on the shelf with her head hanging over the edge and neck feathers ruffled. Everything was stiff and her belly was still warm, but her head was limp, which leads me to believe she broke her neck some how.

Any thoughts?

She was one of the biggest, healthiest hens in the flock.


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## Rockytopsis (Dec 29, 2007)

Maybe when she flew up to the shelf she "missed" , or another chicken flew down on her while she had her neck out and broke her neck that way. 

I had a guinea that broke hers when she started to fly a strong gust of wind pushed her into the shed. I thought she was just stunned, but she was dead before I got her to the house.


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## pickapeppa (Jan 1, 2005)

Rockytopsis said:


> Maybe when she flew up to the shelf she "missed" , or another chicken flew down on her while she had her neck out and broke her neck that way.
> 
> I had a guinea that broke hers when she started to fly a strong gust of wind pushed her into the shed. I thought she was just stunned, but she was dead before I got her to the house.


We did have some big wind gusts yesterday with a storm. She may have even been startled by it.

I wish I'd have found her sooner. We might have been able to make use of the loss instead of turning her to ash.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

It is not terribly uncommon.
They get startled and panic and can easily break themselves.
I have had several over the years to do it. I have had them drown too..


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

Mine hit the far wall in their stall/pen every morning to get off the roost. I am waiting for one to break its neck.....

Sorry you lost your biggest hen!


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

One time when I was doing chores I startled a Brown Leghorn hen. They're flighty birds as it is, so it took off up to the rafters of the coop. Instead of landing on one, it must've 'missed', smacking into it. I never would've thought it hit hard enough to hurt itself. I wasn't watching (I was doing chores) but it suddenly it fell back down and started flopping around violently. It flopped it's way out of the coop and on the ground. I was scrambling for something to put it down with, but by the time I found something she had stopped moving and died.


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## NEfarmgirl (Jan 27, 2009)

We had a hen break her neck and she lived for about 6 months with it deformed. I don't know how it happened but ds came in one afternoon and said that the chickens neck looked funny. I checked it and it was kinked and deformed. She lived with the calves we had at the time and we wonder if she was stepped on. We are guessing that is how she passed. She would sleep right in the crook of the calves legs and I think when they tried to get up they stepped on her.


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## pickapeppa (Jan 1, 2005)

Thank you, Callie, and everyone for sharing similar tales. I suppose it happens quite often. We should have named her Dumpling instead of Ruby Roo. Why is it the favorites are the first to meet an untimely demise? I lost my little lap chicken Penelope around July 4th to a predator. I think she got lost in the neighbor's field and I forgot to count when putting them away that weekend. During the middle of the night I woke up to some odd screaming I've never heard before, and a day or two later found her remains out in the field. It's sounds stupid, but it was heart breaking at the time. Not many chickens are friendly enough to hop up on your lap and fall asleep while you pet them. She was so sweet.

Ruby was a little flighty, and the most aggressive girl in the beginning, but she also became very friendly and quick too! She was the smart one that would fly up on the garage roof to get out of the pen, and fly off the other side into the yard.

I will miss her and her big red comb. The next batch of chickens we get, I may not get so close to. Although we do love keeping them as pets with benefits.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

I had my favorite Silver Appleyard drake spook, "fly" into something and injure himself badly, we finally lost him, he never recovered. It's always a bummer!


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## pickapeppa (Jan 1, 2005)

How long after a chicken dies is it safe to dress them? Just wondering in case it ever happens again. I'm afraid I may have wasted a perfectly good stewing hen.


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