dead dominique

[feather13]

Hi all,

When I went down to clean out the coop and collect eggs this afternoon I found my lovely Dominique dead. Yesterday she was acting sluggish (I thought it was the heat) and don't think anything killed her. I found her near where she was yesterday and she appeared intact. I couldn't see anything wrong with her physically. All of the rest look and act normal.

I don't expect anyone would know what killed her, but I do have a questions:

1) The hens I have are all molting and laying very few eggs. This has been going on for several weeks. They went from laying one each (five total) to about two per day total. Is this normal? I raised these hens from chicks that I got a year ago, so am inexperienced

2) Could heat have possibly killed the Dominique? What kinds of symptoms should I look for in the other hens. It's really hot here in southern California. The hens are in an area with a lot of shade, lots of water, and their coop has a roof and is inside a dog run with a tarp cover, so not exposed directly to sunlight

3) I haven't changed the hens' food, but they've been eating all of the peaches they can reach on the tree, as well as some giant green Japanese beetles that have been damaging my fruit trees (I haven't sprayed anything on them). Could this have caused her death?

Thanks for your time! This is the second chicken death we've had (the first was a possum attack) and it's so sad!

 

[ChickenAndMore]

1.
When chickens molt they usually stop laying eggs, and then start back when they are finished.

2.
Heat can kill chickens. I don't know what signs to look for, just make sure they aren't acting different than they usually are.

3.
Chickens love Japanese Beetles and they can not hurt/kill your chickens. However I don't know about the peaches.

 

[ten chicks]

Hi all,

When I went down to clean out the coop and collect eggs this afternoon I found my lovely Dominique dead. Yesterday she was acting sluggish (I thought it was the heat) and don't think anything killed her. I found her near where she was yesterday and she appeared intact. I couldn't see anything wrong with her physically. All of the rest look and act normal.

I don't expect anyone would know what killed her, but I do have a questions:

1) The hens I have are all molting and laying very few eggs. This has been going on for several weeks. They went from laying one each (five total) to about two per day total. Is this normal? I raised these hens from chicks that I got a year ago, so am inexperienced

2) Could heat have possibly killed the Dominique? What kinds of symptoms should I look for in the other hens. It's really hot here in southern California. The hens are in an area with a lot of shade, lots of water, and their coop has a roof and is inside a dog run with a tarp cover, so not exposed directly to sunlight

3) I haven't changed the hens' food, but they've been eating all of the peaches they can reach on the tree, as well as some giant green Japanese beetles that have been damaging my fruit trees (I haven't sprayed anything on them). Could this have caused her death?

Thanks for your time! This is the second chicken death we've had (the first was a possum attack) and it's so sad!

Heat will cause reduction in egg production,this is normal. Symptoms of heat stroke/stress are : hard open beak panting,wings spread,lethargic,dizzy,non responsive,confused,collapse. If chickens show these symptoms,immediately submerge then into a pail of COOL(NOT COLD-you will shock her)water up to her neck. This will immediately drop body temp and has the potential to save lives. Chickens do not tolerate heat at all,they have no sweat glands,they rely on their respiratory system to cool themselves down,that is why they pant,spread wings etc. Their normal body temp ranges from 103(young birds)-107 degrees Fahrenheit,if their body temp reaches anywhere from 113 degrees and up,they are in immediate danger. Keep pails of COOL water around yard,this way they will be available in an emergency situation.

 

[feather13]

Thanks to both of you for responding to my post! I'm monitoring the other chickens to see how they're doing and so far no one has been acting lethargic like the Dominique did. I still don't know what killed her, but I appreciate your reassurance about molting and tip about keeping the birds cool when it gets really hot.