aeblanton
Hatching
- Jun 17, 2015
- 1
- 0
- 7
Hi first timer here... We have/ had 25 buff Orpington chickens, about 6 weeks old. Just put them outside a couple days ago as our pen around the coop was finished. We think at least 3 are roosters although we were only supposed to have one. We had trouble getting them to go inside the coop last night around 8:30. We had to grab them up by one's and 2's and put them in and they kept crowding around the door and trying to get out again. But they seemed to settle and be ok before we left. This morning found a dead hen by the door. She had a large area on her side where the feathers were pecked off. We don't know what happened but one of the roosters has a pecked area on his neck as well. Could she have been crushed/ smothered/ drowned? We left the waterer inside the door since it was so hot last night.
It could be any number of things as you stated that caused her to die. Moving into a new coop can cause them stress that can kill. Have you got good ventilation in your coop? If it was hot in the coop this could have caused her to overheat especially if they were all huddled together. She also could have easily drowned in the water too if they were all piling up. I'm afraid chickens hold no bounds if they see a bird down. If your chick was attacked in the coop and some blood appeared this can cause a frenzy with them and they just a can't stop pecking at the red. Was it dark when you put them to bed? They tend to be more docile when it's dark and generally should be more quiet to put them to bed. 
