5 dead in an hour

[burquechick]

I'm not suggesting you didn't water them. All I'm saying is temps at 97 aren't lethal in my experience unless chickens don't, IN GENERAL (meaning not you personally), have water. It wasn't a personal attack. And, honestly, I wouldn't think two hours at 97, WITHOUT water, would kill them. Something else happened, in my opinion, not having anything to do with heat (or water).

It's why I suggested a spider or snake bite(s). But I don't have any other suggestions. I'm at a loss. And I'm terribly sorry.

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

Here is a photo of the camper coop once its been turned, and you can see a bit of the privacy fencing behind it that runs all along the back side of the coops.

Here is another shot of the coops and camper once it was turned. I think it show them "ok" At that time the Black Austrolorps were in the cage that the Black Orp chicks were in when this happened.

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

Quote:
I to am beyond being at a loss as to WHY this happened. If it had happened when we hadnt been here, maybe I could see someone being able to get to the girls, but we were literally only gone about 2 hours, and it was in daylight,we got home RIGHT as darkness hit.

We were 2 blocks away at my sisters having a cookout. I got sicker than sick and had to go inside due to the heat. The temps have been great for over a week here until today. They were about 80-85 last week, yesterday it hit 91, then today my sisters thermometer (She JUST told me this on the phone about 2 minutes ago hit 106 in the shade of her back porch, which was not in the sun)

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

Quote:
I wouldnt think so, heck as I was giving it to them, I ate some myself. And I gave the same bowl of watermelon to all the chickens.

 

[katheria]

i hate to say it,

but it sounds like arsenic.......
from what i understand.(what ive heard read)..arsenic is very deadly to birds, and can kill in a very very short time....

I have experience with arsenic poisoning when it comes to cats and dogs...
someone in our neighborhood hit every house last year......with hamburger laced with rat poison....
i lost three cats.and almost lost my cocker.
in total about 46 dogs/cats/rabbits ect were lost...

you may have someone in your area that does not like your chickens....

its very easy to climb a 8 ft wood fence...and something like that can be done in less than 5 mins or so...
and no probably no trace of anything that was fed was left behind...just 1/2 slice of bread torn up could have done the job...

by the picture, someone could have easily come from the side...looks like only a 4ft chain fence....

im sorry for your loss.....

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

I just dont think someone would bother our girls and if they did do it, why would only a couple die.

The reason I keep thinking back to the heat, is one of the buff Orps was broody, and the black Orp chicks kept staying in the coop part not the run part of the cages. So all 5 that died were the ones that stayed in the house part of the coop not the run.

I am a barefoot person, my nephew always laugh and say I have flintstone feet. I sand my feet with a ped egg multiple times a week, and you would never know. BUT today I HAD to wear shoes, my feet still hurt from where I was barefoot outside in the yard. The grass sounds like rice krispies when we walk on it, and I literally feel like I have burns on my feet. The temp basically rose over 20 degress to over 100 today from yesterday.
And its supposed to get hotter, there has been 3 heat related human deaths already due to the heat here in VA

 

[sunflowerenvy]

MomtoSyd&Emma, i am sorry for your lost.

but i belive that the girls got heat stroke. could you move that camper coop under a tree and hang a amount a temperature guage near the top of the camper. where they rooster does that camper have a vent on top of it if so open it if you could put shade [awning or make pouch on side of door n 2 windows] over the windows it should help and give your chicken ice bottle in coop or move your chicken intro the dog cages during the heat wave at night.
i would move my chickens into my ac bedroom n i would sleep under the stars

 

[katheria]

they may have only thrown enough whatever it was for a few birds to get it...chickens do tend to eat very quickly...

i honestly doubt it was the heat........

my mothers girls, have lived for a few years through 100+ temps each summer....
here in texas its not unusual for us to get 105 days for 5-10 days in a row...
we usually have around 150+ human related deaths each year here

Welcome to texas weather is all i can say....

i hope you find out what happened....its never fun to loose our pets...

 

[redhen]

Do they have any shade over their coop/run area?

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

Quote:
4 of the girls are inside already tonight (the ones that survived in the coops with ones that passed) tomorrow morning, I am going to rig up dog crates to bring my other girls inside in for the next two days. I just checked the weather forecast. we are under an extreme heat warning for the next 2 days. then its supposed to go "down" to 90 then 80's again over the wkend