Both Roosters dead from heat stroke in 3 hours?

[dorothymcd]

I love my chickens and always try to find them the best homes.. yesterday I brought 2 of my young roosters that I love so much but cant keep, to a lady with a farm.
I brought them to her house so she can watch them until they go to farm later.
She put them in the shade in a cage with food and water and told me she will bring them to the farm later when her husband home, she just had a baby so she couldn't drive herself. The boys looked good all seemed fine so i said my goodbye and left the boys there..
Three hours later I got a call telling me both boys were dead of heat stroke. The lady that took them told me she checked on them every 20 minutes, her kids even helped watch them, they had food and water and were ok until last time she said they were panting but she checked and they had water and were in the shade so she left them there, when she came back 20 minutes later both were dead!?..
She claims she tried to revive them and did all she could but she was very sorry she lost both boys. I asked her if i can have their bodies to bury them but she told me her husband already buried them..
So thats it? 2 healthy young (6 months and 1+ year old) can die within 3 hours of heat stroke in a cage with water and in shade at 91F? BOTH of them? Could it have been stress? Or was it something more? Can this really happen or was it something else and they wont tell me the truth?
Im so deviated. It took me a week to muster up the courage to give them away and now they both dead and burned before my kids even home from school.
Did they die of heat stroke or was it something else?
The pictures added are the boys on the way to lady house...
This is last picture I have of them alive.. This picture was taken in my car on way there (they are in my cage in the picture this is not the cage they died in)..
I feel very guilty and so so sad..

 

[AlderCreekFarms]

I dont understand why she would go out of her way to call and tell you they were dead if she did something else with them. Why go out of her way to lie? Seems that she would just keep her mouth shut and hope you never want to come visit them. IDK, I agree that it's possible they were just super stressed. There are a lot of unknowns surrounding this, but My personal opinion is shes probably telling the truth

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. They could very well have died from heat stroke if they were not kept in the shade with water. But it would be difficult to know exactly what happed to them. They could have been butchered, sold to someone who keeps roosters, or they could have killed each other. You will never know, but when one relocates extra cockerels there is always the unkown. I have given my extras that I hatched to people who wanted a rooster for their flocks, but I have also given them to a friend who butchered them when they were large enough. That is why I stopped hatching, since there are too many cockerels that hatch. Sorry about your roosters.

 

[lazy gardener]

Or, it could have just been as she said. The chickens were kept in the shade, and had water. But, the stress of being confined would most likely increase their activity level due to them trying to escape their confines. The increased metabolic demand caused them to go into heat stroke and die.

 

[snow5164]

Silkies are prone to heart issues... I’ve had one die because the rooster chased her so much ....

91 is hot and even in the shade with no breeze ... you will never know you need to walk away and move on .

You did the best thing for them ,
It doesn’t always work out

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

She probably made dinner out of them, which is why she told you the story about them being buried already.

 

[dorothymcd]

Thank you all for your kind words. I will never really know what caused these two young boys that were close and never had a fight to panic and die together.. If thats really what happen.. They were not use to being caged so that could of been what scared them.. The lady told me that before she found them both dead (about 20 min before) she seen them panting.. well right there is a sign theres a issue.. Even with water they could of freaked out and with the heat both died even tho its a very odd thing to happen.. She claims she kept them in shade. Im worried one of her 6 kids did something or if she had them outside the house another animal could of hurt them ..its upsetting to think about.. What sucks is I could of sold these boys for good $$..They did cost me a lot in eggs and raising, they were gorgeous and sweet and friendly, but i gave them to her for free because she agreed to allow me to use to visit and breed if needed, but that option went out the door for me.. I even had other people willing to buy them but i thought would be good to keep together so they happy and it still blew up in my face.. I do wish she would of waited to bury them.. Its like she had to hide the evidence.. I guess ill never know..

 

[Shorty22366]

I am wondering Why call you to lie. Seems kind of a dumb thing to do.
She could have avoided you when you called to see them. I think maybe stress and heat together got them. I am sorry for your loss.

 

[Tortoise]

Just a thought here. Maybe she came up with that story so you won't come back too visit or breed them.
Either way it's sad, for you, so sorry.

 

[RumneyRoost]

I think she's telling the truth. That's plenty warm enough to cause issues with an already stressed out bird.
I'm also not sure why you think it's strange that she buried them right away? I would think it was strange it someone just left two dead birds sitting out on a hot day, especially if there were kids around.

It's possible that kids or dogs may have placed additional stress on them. That doesn't mean she's lieing to you though.

My condolences, I know how hard it is to lose them, but at this point I think it's best to move on.