Did my chicken freeze to death or was it some other reason

[Nlchicken]

The last few days have been very cold temps in the -20's celcius with the windchill in the -30's. Today when I checked on our girls i found one of our white ambers who was 8 months old in the corner of the coop under the nesting boxes. She looked like she was snuggled down sleeping while everyone else was doing there normal thing. This seamed odd to me so I reached under and touched her and she never moved. I pulled her out and she was frozen she looks like she froze in her sleep she looks very peaceful. I'm wondering what happened? None of our birds sleep on the floor so why was she there under the nesting box? They always spend the night on the roosts so I don't know why she would have been on the floor well in under the nesting boxes.

Was she sick and I didn't notice?
Was she injured and couldn't get to the roosts? I looked her over I don't see any sign of an injury
Did one of the others drive her off the roosts? If so why? There is more than enough room for everyone there are now 11 hens and 1 rooster in the coop but it's big enough for twice that.
We have vents on both ends of the coop just below the eaves. And they have 24/7 access to layer feed and water. The coop is cleaned regularly and the floor is covered with a thick layer of pine shavings and hay. I have checked on everyone several times today afraid that I will find another but everyone appears normal.

I would like to know why she was on the floor and why she died. But reading old posts on this topic it looks like we may never know. I am new to raising chickens with this being our first winter. I called a friend who is a farmer that raises chickens and they are going to check her over for me tomorrow to see if they can figure out what happened so I may know more then.

Would anyone have any suggestions for anything else I could check for?

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is a poultry and livestock lab in Newfoundland that you can contact:
https://www.faa.gov.nl.ca/agrifoods/animals/health/health_lab.html

 

[Nlchicken]

Thanks I will contact them

 

[staceyj]

I’m very sorry for your loss and hope you can find an answer so you can rest easier.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

I'm so sorry to hear about your hen.

Did you happen to notice if her crop was empty? If it was, it's possible that she may not have had the fuel to be able to thermoregulate her temperature and she succumbed in the cold.

My number one concern in cold temperatures is making sure my compromised birds are full so they can contend with these cold temps.

 

[Nlchicken]

Thanks for the suggestion I never thought to check her crop. I will check it first thing in the morning.

 

[Nlchicken]

I just checked her crop it feels like it is almost empty. Would this suggest that she was sick and not eating? I have 2 feeders in the coop that we always keep full of 16% layer feed. Should I be feeding a higher % we also give them some black oil sunflower seeds.

 

[Eggcessive]

The main thing is to make sure they are eating and filling their crops. She may have been feeling poorly and not eating, or she could have been low in pecking order and kept from eating by the others. My chickens will jump down off their roosts in late afternoon to share in a treat of scrambled egg or scratch, although scratch grains should be limited. I am feeding a 20% all flock or flock raiser feed now although I keep crushed oyster shell available for the few layers, and my chickens really prefer it to the 16% layer. Hopefully this was just an isolated death.

 

[chickens really]

If birds are weak the cold will definitely get them. I provide heat in extreme Canadian winter..

 

[Eggcessive]

I have also found in older chickens, if they are suffering from a reproductive disorder, they usually die during the coldest winter weather, which here is only single digits or 0 F. The other most stressful time is during a molt.

When a young chicken dies, it tends to be a heart problem or a laying problem.