Two days ago, we lost Goldie, the 5 month old Buff Orpington. She had been acting funny for a few days. She wasn't roosting with the other two and was very docile. She was normally quite flighty. Two days ago, she didn't leave the coop at all. I went to check on her in the afternoon and her vent was caked with poop. I went back in the house and got paper towels wet with warm water to rinse her off. She let me do it and didn't struggle. I set her outside to see if she'd stand, nope. I picked her back up and set her inside the coop. As I was securing the door, she started flapping around, fell over and was gone.
Jon dug a hole and we buried her in a corner of the pasture. I was already planning on planting wildflowers there this spring. Jon did a bit of research and found out that the flapping around is a sign of a heart attack. The other two have been acting fine.
The woman I got my chickens from is getting Easter Egger chicks in the spring and I'll get two more from her then.
In other news, Lace has finally started laying. I got one tiny egg from her that day and another today.
