from the other hens pecking her after she died.
since we haven't seen any signs of disease or sickness, i brushed it off as maybe a sudden death type thing, heart attack or what have you. i have no reason to think she was egg bound as we had just gotten an egg from her the previous day.
cut to this evening, my husband goes outside with the dogs and the dogs act interested in the chicken run, something they don't usually do. on inspection my husband finds 4 hens (out of 9 chickens, the rest were in the coop) still out in the run, on a perch we have out there. 