Cold Weather Deaths

[firefly76]

So I have read over some threads and none answered my question so here goes... I have lost 3 birds over the last 3 weeks. The first was a female Appenzeller, she was around 6 months old raised her since day old. One day she was all puffy head tucked into herself, the next morning she was gone (cute note if there can be one two of my cockerels were standing guard for her), The next to go was an 18 month old isn ISA Red she was a lil ratty looking but had shown no signs of anything, was just gone one morning when I went to check. Then this morning Beaky my female Polish also 6 months had passed away (she got her name as a day old her beak was never aligned and as time went on it became worse it was basically at a 90 degree angle, we always wondered how long she would make it)
This is my first year keeping chickens and the road has not been smooth... We are keeping them in a converted grain bin. My first batch of pullets were murdered by a mink all 10 in one night dang animal... So the next time we sealed it up much better and have had no animal problems.
This leads to my question, are these just the weak birds that can not handle the cold? Or is there something else going on that I'm just not understanding.

 

[chicmom]

Sometimes you just never find out what went wrong. What I would do is really just take a chair, and have a seat and just watch the entire flock for a while. Listen to their breathing, look at their beaks around the nostril to see if there's any sign of a runny nose. Pick them up if they're tame enough and look them over carefully for any signs of parasites, and while you're feeling them over, check the weight. Are they nice too thin? Sometimes you just can't tell under all those feathers.

Look around too. Is there any old food laying around that could be spoiled in the old grain bin? That can kill a bird. How is their poop? Does it look ok?

How's the old grain bin as far as draftiness? A draft in the winter can kill a bird. Still, they do have to have a certain amount of ventilation too, even in winter.

Be a detective. It's my belief that a bird, any bird really, will hide an illness as long as they can. It's a survival technique for them. You know, survival of the fittest.

Good luck to you and wishing your flock the best!

 

[chicmom]

Oh, also I wanted to mention that the Polish breed does poorly in the cold weather, according to a review I read from the Meyer Hatchery. Now, the Appenzeller is listed as very cold weather hardy, so she should have been fine in the cold weather. I can't really say about the Isa Brown.