Did weather kill my chickens?

[Kmjmjm]

My wife and I live in Montana and had two 7 month female Wyandotte’s in a raised coop. They were laying normally and one was lethargic and seemed off one day and the other seems fine hanging out why we stacked wood. When we got up the next day both birds were dead in the coop to my wife’s horror. The weather has been fluctuating but it was the first snowfall - temps into mid 20s, but very windy. The run was closed off but the small coop door remained open as always. The wind was in a direction drafts could be through the coop. A few weeks ago we had a similar temperature spread with freezing rain and high winds but no snow. These are supposed to be very winter tested breeds to the negative temps. The siblings still live at higher elevation nearby where it is ten degrees lower. The flock is bigger but they leave their coop door open as well. When I removed the chickens from the coop they were not cold to the touch and the feathers seemed full and dry. No blood. There was no ice on anywhere on their bodies even though outside temp was 24 degrees. I tried to do a necropsy on one but I wasn’t sure what to look for. I couldn’t find anything that looked odd other than the full bladder looked greenish black - not sure if that is normal or not. My wife is besides her self and doesn’t want to get more until we can make sure we don’t replicate the mistakes of the past. Any thoughts?

 

[BuckeyeAmy69]

I don't think weather is a factor here.

What were you feeding them? More information would be helpful.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Thank you for joining BYC!
Where the chickens sneezing? Did they lay an egg the day before this tragedy?

 

[Kmjmjm]

Days prior there were a few sneezes. There were eggs in the box the morning of the last night. They free roam our place and were in the neighbors yard which they aren’t supposed to be for a few hours. We feed them omega egg layer crumbles feed with a little cracked cord and wild bird seed in the coop. We had just gotten them a heated water dish. Food and water in run not coop. My wife is still tearing up.

 

[BuckeyeAmy69]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm not really sure what to think because I don't see anything really wrong with how you've been taking care of them. Is it possible they got into something they shouldn't eat?

 

[Kmjmjm]

We considered that as the there are vermin and mice around. Maybe our neighbors use poison. I found bits of colored plastic which I have no idea where they would get on our 10 acres. I just want to make sure we do well for future chickens, I am not sure my wife could handle it if the next couple died similarly. But that’s a guess. My wife keeps thinking its but because we didn’t close the door to the coop and the high cold winds pointed in the coop and beating her self up.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Were they under the roost when you found them? Were their necks broken?
Any signs of a predator walking the coop border? Chickens will go berserk when a predator is around and they can injure themselves.

 

[Kimi BK]

My wife and I live in Montana and had two 7 month female Wyandotte’s in a raised coop. They were laying normally and one was lethargic and seemed off one day and the other seems fine hanging out why we stacked wood. When we got up the next day both birds were dead in the coop to my wife’s horror. The weather has been fluctuating but it was the first snowfall - temps into mid 20s, but very windy. The run was closed off but the small coop door remained open as always. The wind was in a direction drafts could be through the coop. A few weeks ago we had a similar temperature spread with freezing rain and high winds but no snow. These are supposed to be very winter tested breeds to the negative temps. The siblings still live at higher elevation nearby where it is ten degrees lower. The flock is bigger but they leave their coop door open as well. When I removed the chickens from the coop they were not cold to the touch and the feathers seemed full and dry. No blood. There was no ice on anywhere on their bodies even though outside temp was 24 degrees. I tried to do a necropsy on one but I wasn’t sure what to look for. I couldn’t find anything that looked odd other than the full bladder looked greenish black - not sure if that is normal or not. My wife is besides her self and doesn’t want to get more until we can make sure we don’t replicate the mistakes of the past. Any thoughts?

I am so sorry. That is hard.

How big is the coop? With only two birds and tough winters, it might be hard for them to stay warm enough. Don't give up -- but maybe get more girls? We had backyard chickens in Wisconsin. Their roost box was a modified wooden dog house and it just had the roost and their nest boxes in it -- they had free access to the run, but cozied up on the roost and kept each other warm through the coldest winters. We got a flexible plastic dog/cat door that we put in their roost box door so they could push through to get in and out, but it blocked some oif the wind and cold. In the winter we wrapped the run with reinforced plastic sheeting so they didn't get drafts under the coop -- we left the top 3-4" open above, so there was still plenty of air circulation. The only weather-related death we had was during a terrible muggy heat wave in the summer.

That said, it sounds like they might have been sick and it might not have been weather-related at all...

 

[Norma_Lorp]

Days prior there were a few sneezes. There were eggs in the box the morning of the last night. They free roam our place and were in the neighbors yard which they aren’t supposed to be for a few hours. We feed them omega egg layer crumbles feed with a little cracked cord and wild bird seed in the coop. We had just gotten them a heated water dish. Food and water in run not coop. My wife is still tearing up.

I’m so sorry. I lost a hen recently and I think it was predisposed. She was almost 2 and always a little “off”. Others are fine. I cried too. Send hugs to your wife.

 

[Kmjmjm]

It snowed all night so not sure, but there were no prints. They could have easily been buried with the 4 inches of snow though.