Hi, we are relatively new backyard chicken parents. We got two chicks last summer (Wellsummer named Gladys and Buff Orpington named Mabel). They have been doing great; started laying in February/March and recently (2 weeks ago) moved in to a spacious custom coop that we built for them. Mabel (the buff) was the "alpha" hen - vey large, beautiful, and a prolific egg layer (consistently 6/week). We are so sad to say that she died suddenly this morning; she bounded out of the coop this morning as usual, ate, drank, and played around, and then sat down for about 45 minutes and did not move much, and then just died. We are heartbroken. We are just now learning about sudden chicken death syndrome. Now, we are concerned for Gladys (well summer). They have been together since they were baby chicks (9 months ago), and now Gladys is all alone. We won't be able to care for new chicks again until late August, and then it will be at least 4-5 months till they can be introduced to the coop outside. Will it be ok for Gladys to be alone for that long? Is it possible or even a good idea to find/purchase an adult hen as a companion? Sorry, if these are stupid questions, but we are new to all this and still reeling from our loss this morning.