Chicken just passed

[Southern Chicken Lady]

I’m so heartbroken! I posted on this page for the first time today & then this afternoon my sweet Ethel died.
The real feel is 108 degrees today.
My girls have shade, water, food.
I have no idea why she passed!! Could she have overheated??? This is only my 2nd summer having chickens.
She was only 1 yr & 3 months.
Any tips??

 

[Prince and Pavo]

I’m so sorry about your chicken! It’s so hard to lose a pet

It’s very possible that she passed from heat stress. 108 is pretty hot… is this much higher than it’s been lately where you live? It could be that her body couldn’t handle the sudden shock of a drastic temperature change.

Did you notice if she was acting strange or differently than normal in any way? Was she panting, lethargic, closing eyes, drooping wings, not eating, etc? Have you seen her injured or possibly hurt in any way recently? How has her poo looked? Watery, bloody, very dark or black, etc?

Even if it wasn’t from the heat, here are some tips to keep your other chickens cool during the hot summer months…
-feed cool fruits as treats (watermelon, berries, peaches, apples, etc)
-increase coop ventilation; still air is often worse than warm air
-discontinue feeding or do not feed scratch grains; they actually warm the bird from the inside as it digests these seeds and grains
-provide a shallow pool (such as a kiddie pool) with a few inches of water that the chickens can step and walk in; the feet are one of the main body parts which release body heat.
-provide 2-liter soda bottles or gallon-size milk jugs of ice for the chickens to lay against and keep cool
-make sure that they have plenty of shade and water all the time.

I hope some of this helps, and again, I’m so, so sorry about your hen.

 

[Sir Sacabambaspis]

I’m so heartbroken! I posted on this page for the first time today & then this afternoon my sweet Ethel died.
The real feel is 108 degrees today.
My girls have shade, water, food.
I have no idea why she passed!! Could she have overheated??? This is only my 2nd summer having chickens.
She was only 1 yr & 3 months.
Any tips??

I'm sooooo sorry, I know how you feel because I had a hen get taken by this stupid stray cat that's been eyeing my hens and you get roos for a bit now. I'd suggest icecubes in their water and cool treats so they have cooler think to eat and drink. I'd say a bit more shade and a nice shaded place to lay in the sand that would get cold so they can sit somewhere cool on hot days. Sometimes I even make a bath of water in a shorter tub and they soak.like emus in a pool on the hottest day of a Australian summer. I'm really sorry for your lose

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. Welcome to BYC. Do you have any shade for your coop and run? Shade trees and bushes, or even man made shade from tables, tarps, or shade cloth can help. I keep shallow pans of water around my chicken yard and in the run for them to stand in to cool off and to drink. What is your set up like? Do you have windows in your coop for ventilation from one end to the other. I put a fan in my back window that draws air through the coop from the doorway and out the back window. There are also 5 windows. I don’t put ice in my waterers,,but I do refill pans of water at least twice a day on hot days, and put them all around the area.

 

[Southern Chicken Lady]

I’m so sorry about your chicken! It’s so hard to lose a pet

It’s very possible that she passed from heat stress. 108 is pretty hot… is this much higher than it’s been lately where you live? It could be that her body couldn’t handle the sudden shock of a drastic temperature change.

Did you notice if she was acting strange or differently than normal in any way? Was she panting, lethargic, closing eyes, drooping wings, not eating, etc? Have you seen her injured or possibly hurt in any way recently? How has her poo looked? Watery, bloody, very dark or black, etc?

Even if it wasn’t from the heat, here are some tips to keep your other chickens cool during the hot summer months…
-feed cool fruits as treats (watermelon, berries, peaches, apples, etc)
-increase coop ventilation; still air is often worse than warm air
-discontinue feeding or do not feed scratch grains; they actually warm the bird from the inside as it digests these seeds and grains
-provide a shallow pool (such as a kiddie pool) with a few inches of water that the chickens can step and walk in; the feet are one of the main body parts which release body heat.
-provide 2-liter soda bottles or gallon-size milk jugs of ice for the chickens to lay against and keep cool
-make sure that they have plenty of shade and water all the time.

I hope some of this helps, and again, I’m so, so sorry about your hen.

Thank you!!
Unfortunately, my little family was on vacation for a week & returned last night so I
My parents stayed at my house to care for my chickens & dog. My dad didn’t notice anything unusual and I know they cared for them very well.

Sorry for your loss. Welcome to BYC. Do you have any shade for your coop and run? Shade trees and bushes, or even man made shade from tables, tarps, or shade cloth can help. I keep shallow pans of water around my chicken yard and in the run for them to stand in to cool off and to drink. What is your set up like? Do you have windows in your coop for ventilation from one end to the other. I put a fan in my back window that draws air through the coop from the doorway and out the back window. There are also 5 windows. I don’t put ice in my waterers,,but I do refill pans of water at least twice a day on hot days, and put them all around the area.

Thank you!
The coop is very well ventilated & the run has shade. I will look into a fan to keep air going.
I just added a small dog pool this evening with about 1 1/2” of water in it for them to cool off in if they will get over their suspicions about it.

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to BYC.
Fatty liver disease is pretty common and it kills without any warnings signs or symptoms.

What exactly do you feed your flock?
Do you feed treats? What state are you in?
Each state has a state lab that will perform a necropsy to give you an exact reason she died. It's worth knowing to possibly prevent more deaths.

Look below in my signature and click the link for a Necropsy Stat Lab list.

 

[Southern Chicken Lady]

I’m so sorry about your chicken! It’s so hard to lose a pet

It’s very possible that she passed from heat stress. 108 is pretty hot… is this much higher than it’s been lately where you live? It could be that her body couldn’t handle the sudden shock of a drastic temperature change.

Did you notice if she was acting strange or differently than normal in any way? Was she panting, lethargic, closing eyes, drooping wings, not eating, etc? Have you seen her injured or possibly hurt in any way recently? How has her poo looked? Watery, bloody, very dark or black, etc?

Even if it wasn’t from the heat, here are some tips to keep your other chickens cool during the hot summer months…
-feed cool fruits as treats (watermelon, berries, peaches, apples, etc)
-increase coop ventilation; still air is often worse than warm air
-discontinue feeding or do not feed scratch grains; they actually warm the bird from the inside as it digests these seeds and grains
-provide a shallow pool (such as a kiddie pool) with a few inches of water that the chickens can step and walk in; the feet are one of the main body parts which release body heat.
-provide 2-liter soda bottles or gallon-size milk jugs of ice for the chickens to lay against and keep cool
-make sure that they have plenty of shade and water all the time.

I hope some of this helps, and again, I’m so, so sorry about your hen.

Thank you!! I am going to get the jugs of ice for them to lay against tomorrow!!
I got out a little pool for them this evening but they aren’t so sure about that yet.

 

[Southern Chicken Lady]

Welcome to BYC.
Fatty liver disease is pretty common and it kills without any warnings signs or symptoms.

What exactly do you feed your flock?
Do you feed treats? What state are you in?
Each state has a state lab that will perform a necropsy to give you an exact reason she died. It's worth knowing to possibly prevent more deaths.

Look below in my signature and click the link for a Necropsy Stat Lab list.

Kalmbach chicken feed. I used to feed them Scratch and Peck but that got really expensive. I don’t feed a lot of treats. Mealworms sometimes & watermelon. I am in Florida. I didn’t know that about the lab. Thank you!!