We are "new" to raising chickens. We have a raised chicken coop inside a large fenced in range area. The coop was built by a reputable designer for up to 16 chickens. Roosting and laying spaces are provided, fir shavings are the current bedding. We feed good quality layer rations. We started with 14 birds, we lost two to predators during a free range day. Then we lost two to what we feel was hypothermia but this is where the questions start...The chickens are closed into their coop every night, in temps of below 30 degrees a heat lamp is provided. water is primarily outside of the coop, unless it is very cold, then water is moved into the coop. The coop is 4x6, sturdily built with a pull out floor for easy cleaning. a two inch gap in the roof line to provide ventilation. The doors do not "seal".
Yesterday we woke up to a significant drop in temp from the previous night. Although the heat lamp was on, we found one dead hen, and four more in stages of what seemed like hypothermia. We brought them inside to the basement to warm them slowly. We ended up losing all of them. in the very end, they thrashed and seized. We were obviously devastated. The remaining five birds seemed ok. we covered the coop with a blanket and tucked it into the eaves. Left the heat lamp on, it was about 40 degrees outside temp with no wind, so I left the coop door open to allow them to choose to be out or in. We came home from work to two more dead. Shortly after we lost two more. I now have only the rooster, whom had to be brought in for the fear of losing him as well. Please advise! My husband thinks it may be some sort of poison. I feel that it might be to many drafts inside. I don't recollect having this many problems raising chickens growing up. I am extremely upset and do not want to bring more Chickens home until I get this figured out. Is It hypothermia? Can it happen that quickly and can it be avoided? Should I insulate? Do I need a coop that sits on the ground? All deaths occurred in a short time, and ALL birds are free of any visible signs of disease. They were of healthy weight, beautiful plumage, and of different breeds. We love our birds, we want to be good caretakers but want to do it well and succeed with the correct shelter and or feed, Should we "re-home" the rooster in the mean time, we do not want him to e lonely or fall to the same fate. any help is appreciated!! (the hens were about 10 months old and 5 months old)
One thing I noticed right away....too many birds to too small of a space. The space for your coop would hold 4 standard chickens, max...but it's best to even go a little more on that space. Your reputable coop builder is not exactly reputable if he is recommending 16 birds in 24 sq. ft. of space. You'd need an 8x8 coop to give each of those birds the recommended 4 sq. ft. of living space...and even then most experienced chicken folks will tell you to go even higher on that space and allow for 6-8 sq. ft. for each bird for healthy living conditions, especially in the winter time.
Then you have too little ventilation and provided heat... and used a heat lamp...depending upon the type of light bulb used, it could have been coated with Teflon which emits a gas that's toxic to birds when the bulb is heated, particularly in enclosed spaces.
Then you occluded the ventilation even more and did it again.
You can rest assured it's not hypothermia....chickens are out there in 20-40 below weather, sleeping in the open and not dying of hypothermia. My own birds are living in an open air style coop and have been through temps of -10 in their coop with no signs of discomfort, let alone hypothermia or dying.
Symptoms of PTFE poisoning(Teflon toxicity) http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15+1829&aid=2874
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Here's a thread you might find interesting about cold temps for chickens: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/97134/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-a-chicken
The temps you are having do not warrant any heat in your coop, nor do you need to close ventilation to keep chickens warm. They have downy feathers that are immensely suited for cold weather wear and they do very well in cold temps, even more so than in hot temps.
I'd advise you decrease your stocking rate in your coop, open up more ventilation when it's cold...not less...humidity from their breathing, then getting cold, is more harmful than just being dry and cold, so your ventilation is very, very important. Don't worry about drafts...unless there is a cold wind blowing directly onto your birds and it's parting their feathers, you don't have a sufficient draft to effect your bird's comfort and health in the winter months.
Heating a coop makes it hard on chickens as they move from a heated space, out into the cold and then back again....this is a good way to cause illness in your flock as they struggle to adjust to large variances in temps over and over. Constant temps with small variances is a more natural and healthy environment for them.
I'd get that heat lamp out of the coop and read the label on the bulb packaging to see what kind of coating your bulb has....only use bulbs that do not have a teflon coating. Then reserve your heat lamp for times when you are brooding chicks in outside brooders only, with the right bulbs, great ventilation and in cool ambient temps that would warrant more heat than a regular light bulb.
Time to do a lot of reading and studying before getting any more birds to put in that coop.