We're on long term duty to care for the two hens next door while our neighbours are away.  Every morning and evening we hop over the fence and feed them, let them out, etc.

One stopped laying in about May this year after laying some strange shaped eggs.  The other had been laying but they had recently both gone into moult so had stopped.

Yesterday we put them in their house early because of the fireworks.  This morning we were late letting them out due to the torrential rain but they both came out happily to peck at the food.  This afternoon we went round to clean the house out and only one was to be seen. This evening only one went in the house at dusk and when the one who hadn't been laying didn't return by 8pm I took a spaniel round to find her.  He found her straight away, dead under her favourite tree.  She was very wet but hadn't been attacked and there was no obvious sign of illness. 

Do you think she could have died from stress due to fireworks?  What are the implications for keeping a solitary hen?

We've become quite attached to our chickens in the past year and of course love the eggs. It was horrid to have to 'deal' with her despite feeling very comfortable with dead pheasants, this was different.

:-(

Our hens live in "shooting country" & seem unperterbed by bangs or anything else so think its more likey just one of those things...hens, like ewes, like to die!!! :)  Single hens do fine although they do become very human orientated & like to come in the house. we had a single buff orpington for years on her own & she used to sit on the back of the kitchen chairs & watch me bake!!

Don't even want to think about it !!!
I had a really bad experience after agreeing to look after someone's chicken while they were away for 2 weeks.
Arrived the first day to feed them, there were 10 living and 2 already dead !!!!
The coop was in a filthy state so we set about moving the chicken into crates and cleaning them out literally with shovel, to say I was disgusted was an understatement, there were decomposed chicken carcases under the straw.
Anyway we scubbed & disinfected it all out put the chickens back and managed to keep 8 alive till the owners got back. only to be told that they hadn't expected any to survive as they had been losing them rapidly (no surprise there)  I was flabberghasted and gave them a long lecture in how to care for living things, don;t know if it did any good as they never spoke to me again !

Oh Ingrid, that's terrible. What an awful way to treat their hens and to treat you too. :-(

We had a hen called Chuckie that a neighbour found in the road, by the state of her probably an ex-battery hen fallen off a lorry going to slaughter. We had other free range hens and ducks but the hens wouldn't accept her so she lived in a little hut by herself and was fine. She became very friendly and followed us around the place. :-)  She loved our goats and would nest in their hayrack :-D

They are marvellous characters when you get to know them. :-)