post mortem: cannabalism. My sad story and lessons learned

sometimes, despite best efforts and intentions, things can still go wrong, especially for newbies like us who are still learning. Here's what's been going on at our place -

We had 4 hens, and as I was getting ready to go on holiday for a couple weeks, Mama (the oldest-a Barred Rock) had become broody. For two days she sat in the nesting
box and only came out once. She was not a happy camper (see pic). I brought her food but
she didn't seem very interested in it.

broody Mama, not in mood to be messed with

Another hen, Sammy (younger – a black Arucana), hadn’t laid for about a week but seemed happy and acting normally despite this. The day before I was due to leave, she
had white all over her behind. At the time I thought it was a bit of feces, but
looking back upon it, I suspect it may have been an egg that finally exploded
and came out. At this point, I should have separated her but was busy preparing
and had nowhere else to house her. So, the next morning, the day of our flight,
I found Sammy dead in the nesting box. As our tears rolled, I removed her from
the box and put her in a bag then into the freezer.

I then had a long talk with my neighbour who agreed to investigate while I was away.  We figured that if we could figure
out what she died from, we may be able to save the others. So, she sent Sammy
for a post mortem ($125) to the Ministry of Agriculture in Abbotsford. Another hen seemed
to stop laying, so was taken in for testing to the Night Owl Bird Hospital,
where she was given an antibiotic cream. Turns out she was still laying but had
a bacterial infection, so the others were also taken there for de-worming ($25
per bird).

Attached is the post mortem  from MoA for those who want all the unpleasant details.

From the brief research I've done into the subject, 3 things stand out - 1) hens can be attracted to contrasting colour (Sammy had white on black feathers), 2)
hens can do this because there's nothing else to peck at, and 3) chickens like
to peck at wounds. So, if Mama was broody and had nothing to peck at, and Sammy
came along with her white bottom, and possibly wounded vent, this may have been
enough to cause Mama to 'do the deed'.

When I arrived home, the Chicka was separated in a rabbit house. After a few days of re-accustoming them, they are now all sleeping in the coop. I got
another bird, a Silver Grey Dorkey, who I'm trying to introduce into my little
flock, but when she gets too close, Mama and Chicka attack her. The other one (a Red Rock) is
gentle and doesn't have issues with any of the others.  As of today, they are all in the coop
together, although the new one still hides in the house while the others relax
in the run. I put food and water beside her so she doesn’t starve, but I’m
crossing my fingers that she’ll come out soon and we can get back to a happy flock.

All this underscores the need for a Chicken First Aid workshop. I'm looking for someone who would be qualified, but if anyone knows of someone who may be in interested,
it would be extremely helpful. I did find a course at the University of the
Fraser Valley, and I will post the info in a separate thread.

LESSONS LEARNED

• it is good practice to get your chickens de-wormed every 6 months ($25/bird)
• having a friend who is willing to help look after chickens when you're not there, and put in the effort should something go wrong, is INVALUABLE
• it is good to have a place (or at least a plan) in case you need to separate a bird
• any bird that has an open wound should be separated
  
• looking at a chicken's butt is a good indication of its health (should be no redness, no feces)
• worry if your hen goes more than a few days without laying - it could indicate an infection or other stress
  
• Night Owl Bird Hospital is a good place to go for chicken issues
  
• Ministry of Ag does post-mortems on chickens if you want to know what they died from. Not cheap ($125) but valuable knowledge.