Cause of death? (COD) cold or predator fight

[outlawfarmer]

My first time useing a red heat light bulbs through winter in my coop. I came home after 36 hours away and the coop light was burned out and two of three bantams are dead.

My question is did it burn out and they then got cold.... or were they killed and bulb popped in the struggle?

One bantam and five rhode island reds are fine. The two dead had all feathers plucked on neck and breast but no other injuries noted.

Do the others pluck the feathers trying to wake them or was it a predator?

 

[centrarchid]

Can you show pictures of the damaged birds?

Do not rule out "hardware disease" on this with broken bulb involved.

 

[007Sean]

Do you have pics of your setup? Depending on how your heat lamp is hung (height above floor) it could have been broken by the bantam, if there is glass shards laying around.
Most time a lamp will just burn out, doesn't explode. if water gets on the lamp it's self, it will explode, if hot.
The plucked feathers are from the others just pecking at the dead ones...not trying to wake them up or anything.
Sorry about your loss.

 

[silkie1472]

Honestly it sounds like a predator problem to me. With bantams, just about anything can be considered a predator. Rats were a problem for me along with raccoons. I had a similar problem. The rats startled the chickens, causing them to break the lights I had and hurt themselves, then the rats ate them.

 

[aart]

My first time useing a red heat light bulbs through winter in my coop. I came home after 36 hours away and the coop light was burned out and two of three bantams are dead.

My question is did it burn out and they then got cold.... or were they killed and bulb popped in the struggle?

One bantam and five rhode island reds are fine. The two dead had all feathers plucked on neck and breast but no other injuries noted.

Do the others pluck the feathers trying to wake them or was it a predator?

Did the bulb shatter or just go out?
Was there any blood where feathers were plucked?

 

[outlawfarmer]

There was no broken glass. Light simply burned out. No blood.

 

[cmom]

It's hard to say without some pictures, but it sounds like some kind of predator but could have been the others birds picked at them. Do you have a game camera you could put up in your coop. My brother has a heat lamp he puts on in his coop in northern Michigan on really cold days and nights.