4 of my 5 chickens died today!

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outdoorsgal

outdoorsgal

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we have had chickens for a good couple of yrs. we r getting a pool put in so have the chickens on the west side of our phoenix home. today was triple digits. i have a tarp hanging over the fence for privacy so that when the temporary board is not up when workers r in the backyard neighbors can't see the chickens from the street, so that we don't get any fuss. the chickens have seemed to like to go under the tarp. at this point the tarp is folded over the chicken fence, no space in between. they managed to get inside there and i thought that was keeping them shaded. my kids said the chickens were laying in the coop dead and sure enough 4 chickens went to the bottom part of the coop where they lay eggs and died there. one chicken survived and was out and about. i wonder if they overheated under the tarp. then why did they go to the coop? to get more shade or to die? i feel terrible. i'm planning on feeding the eggs to the survivor assuming it'll be fine but if it also dies i guess i'll know they were poisoned, but i can't see how. they have been getting out of their area but they didn't today. i think it was the hottest day today. they had water and food. four at once. that's the only thing i can really think of unless it was a disease? it was late and i didn't know what to look for. i just buried them. had some dirt dug up from the pool build but was planning on using that dirt in a couple of mths. i panicked and didn't know what to do. we live near a mountain and takes forever to dig a ligit hole in our yard. how long will it take for them to decompose there? sigh. it's been a nightmare lately with the pool build and my daughter got hurt, too, but i won't get into all of that. it's been a hard time. thx much.
 
So sorry about your loss. Sounds to me they died from heat. I have had one with heat exhaustion even with shade, breezes and water access and if my DH had not witnessed her stress and intervened would have lost her. Hope the survivor is doing better.

Welcome to BYC, wishing you better luck in the future.
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
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I am so sorry for your loss.
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I agree with Sunflour here that this is probably heat related. In these temps you need to run fans, hose down your grounds for the evaporative effects, feed them cold watermelon, cold cantaloupe, cold berries, put ice in the water fonts, even dunk the chickens in cold water if you have to. Even bring them inside the house where it is cooler, (if you happen to have a basement or cool garage) Triple digits are killers and the chickens will need help surviving.

I hope your heavy heart heals soon.
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So very sorry. When your pool is finished, if your chickens can get to it, you are likely to have some drown. People have had them drown in stock tanks because they fall or jump in and can't get out. I mention this because you would hope they have the sense not to do that but, they are chickens..
 
Heat kills more chickens than cold. I would take this opportunity to redesign your coop. You do not need or want a traditional coop in Az. Open at least 2 sides (N and E) and cover with wire to maximize air flow. Insulate the roof and S wall. Cover the coop with a shade cloth ( i want something with holes so the heat is not trapped under it) leaving a foot of dead air space between it and the coop. Plant around the coop and run to provide as much shade as possible.
 
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Percheron chick said:
Heat kills more chickens than cold. I would take this opportunity to redesign your coop. You do not need or want a traditional coop in Az. Open at least 2 sides (N and E) and cover with wire to maximize air flow. Insulate the roof and S wall. Cover the coop with the tarp leaving a foot of dead air space between it and the coop. Plant around the coop and run to provide as much shade as possible.
Click to expand...

X 2 - can you post some photos of the current enclosure the birds are in so we can see just what you are describing?
 
thx everyone! i regret having pulled out all of the bushes when the excavators were at the house. they offered to tear out the bushes and as it was super easy for them with their bobcat and i was planning on planting fruit trees, along with the chickens having been fine last year and the coop under a tree, i thought they'd be fine. i wonder if they were even drinking water, since the water was warm.

it saddens me to think they could go in the pool and drown :( i pretty much only let them out to free range when we're watching at this point they used to have the whole backyard but i got tired of the kids tracking chicken poop in the house and the chickens pooping on the porch so gave them 1/4 of the yard until they had a temporary place under a big tree while the pool was getting put in, but on the west wall this time.

i'm sad i didn't notice in time. the one survived. she's hearty or smart, didn't go into the coop to die. im hoping that once i plant some bushes and more live greenery for them that will take care of it. they never used to go into the coop in the daytime. i feel really bad.

on another note, when u loose a chicken, what do u do with them? bury them in the backyard? this time i had a pile of dirt left from the pool company and it was getting late so i buried them there. not sure how long it will take for them to biodegrade before i can use any of that dirt. it was getting dark and i didn't know what to do. in the past we'd bury them in the yard, but we live near the mountain and any hole takes forever. 4 chickens was a big hole! thanku
 

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