Dead chicken - too cold???

[Jenny421]

I’m not sure if this is the right place to post this question. One of our white amber star hens died in the coop last night. She’s about 9 months old. She was acting perfectly normal yesterday and I did not notice anything off with her. We got our normal number of eggs yesterday. I didn’t see any injuries on her body. We are in Georgia between Macon and Atlanta. It was rainy all day yesterday and it got down to maybe 32-35 last night. Could she have been too cold? The coop has ventilation around the top on 3 sides and a small window on one side. I’m wondering if we need to get a heater for the coop? We are using our brooder heater for the ducks because their coop isn’t as well designed and it gets colder.

 

[nchls school]

No. She would not have died from the cold. 32 isn't that cold for a healthy hen. It just happens and nothing to do about it. Some have the bird tested for disease.

 

[Jenny421]

No. She would not have died from the cold. 32 isn't that cold for a healthy hen. It just happens and nothing to do about it. Some have the bird tested for disease.

Thanks

 

[Isadora]

No. She would not have died from the cold. 32 isn't that cold for a healthy hen. It just happens and nothing to do about it. Some have the bird tested for disease.

X2

 

[SpicyDisaster]

Agreed, not too cold. Our coop gets down to 14-20 consistently right now at night.

 

[Banana01]

Do your chickens get to sleep huddled up together? The cold is not nearly as dangerous as the moisture.

-Can you smell any ammonia if you stick your head in the coop?
-You should open the window of the coop at night. Chickens can withstand way colder air that is dry.
-consider a humidity guage to check

Id hate to see you lose anymore chickens. But it was likely humidity, lack of oxygen, etc. They generate a lot of CO2, ammonia, and moisture and ventilation needs to be a lot.

 

[Jenny421]

Do your chickens get to sleep huddled up together? The cold is not nearly as dangerous as the moisture.

-Can you smell any ammonia if you stick your head in the coop?
-You should open the window of the coop at night. Chickens can withstand way colder air that is dry.
-consider a humidity guage to check

Id hate to see you lose anymore chickens. But it was likely humidity, lack of oxygen, etc. They generate a lot of CO2, ammonia, and moisture and ventilation needs to be a lot.

They do sleep together on a roost. I could smell a little ammonia yesterday but not that much. We cleaned the coop not that long ago. I added more shavings yesterday. The window we have is always open. We do have a door that we close. I could always leave that open too if you think more ventilation is needed. There is about a 3 inch opening all around the top edge of the coop (covered in hardware cloth). It’s hard to see in the picture because we painted the wire black. A humidity gauge is a good idea! They were all fine this morning when I let them out. I was hoping I didn’t find anymore dead ones.

 

[Jenny421]

Agreed, not too cold. Our coop gets down to 14-20 consistently right now at night.

Thanks!

 

[MildlyOffensiveChicken]

My chickens live in a hoop house covered on 3 sides. I put heat on with ceramic bulb size heaters when it drops below about 15 degrees. Large parts of the year are below 32 degrees.

I don’t think cold was the culprit.

 

[Jenny421]

My chickens live in a hoop house covered on 3 sides. I put heat on with ceramic bulb size heaters when it drops below about 15 degrees. Large parts of the year are below 32 degrees.

I don’t think cold was the culprit.

Thank you!