Chickens Huddling together

[dcross@66]

Can anyone tell me what makes chickens huddle together to the point that they hurt/kill each other by suffocation? I have one brooder box that I am having problems with the chickens in, they all want to huddle together in the corner. I had them in a cattle trough as a brooder box and I thought that maybe it was getting to hot in there for them, so I took them outside and put them in a place outside where they could get air and run around. All of them did fine, they were all fine up to the point where I put them back in the chicken house that night and then when I checked on them a couple of hrs. later two of them were deadk, and they were all huddled together. I know they are not cold they are a couple of weeks old and it is 85 degrees here. I also have five brooder boxes running and the chickens in the other brooder boxes are fine and do not huddle together at all they are all running around and active. It is just this one bunch of chickens. Is this how coccidiosis acts could it be that? They all act healthy though when you get them away from huddling together they all eat good and are active they were eating grass and bugs today.
Any help with this is greatly appreciated.

 

[NurseNettie]

You might want to get another thermometer--- could it be it's actually much hotter than 85 under the light? Do they have enough room to get away from the heat? Sound like it's too hot, if they are all going in the corner ( I assume the furthest they can get from the heat source).
How much space do they have? Do they have enough room, in general, for all of them?

 

[Judy]

That's not huddling, it is piling, as in, piling on top of one another. Nursenettie is right. If they are piling under the heat lamp, they are too cold. If they are piling on the opposite side from the heat, they are too hot. They can tell you what temp they need better than a thermometer can.

 

[JeandreFarmer]

Hi sorry to post bomb! I have the same question but could it be because of the different ages?

 

[garagegirl]

Sorry to intrude but I also have the same problem. Mine are 2 months old. They huddle in the same corner wether the light is on or off. I have even moved the light to the other side of the barn. They don't go to the light I also have plenty of roost there but they still go to the same corner and crowd on top of each other. I have lost 12 because of this.

I have had other flocks and none of them have done this.