Sorry to hear about your loss. I too lost a chicken today. She had similar symptoms, gasping for air. It took less than 10min. I am still in shock. Not too sure what happened either.
My beautiful 3 years old Brahma just died. I am not sure what happened. She sounded a little strange for the last two days and I had to take her down the roost too. She had some white poop on her vent and behind, so I gently washed it under some running water and then she became completely...
Check out Wayfair.com, they offer decent pricing on hardware cloth.
http://www.wayfair.com/Mat-0.5-Mesh-Galvanized-Hardware-Cloth-308243B-308246B-BFJ1003.html
@GloriaGaynor - Sorry I did not get back to you earlier, I used Lath Screws (1/2") and they work just great. http://www.backyardchickens.com/image/id/8979578/width/400/flags/LL
Wow, thank you for featuring my coop! I worked so hard at it. The coop works really well and I have no complaints on the upgrades. @aussie5, I can see your point on the smell as last year I experienced a bit of smell...Since I added the poop boards though, it seems to be working just fine, most...