Dying chickens

[Teal05]

Help, I’ve lost 4 chickens to the heat the first was my rooster earlier this summer, then a few weeks later a leghorn passed in the yard (inside a run), then this week I’ve lost a pullet the other night and a hen last night (inside the coop over night) despite having the doors open on the coop during the day and they have access to free range all day in the shade, and plenty of water.
I don’t know what else to do?!
I am down to 5 hens and 6 pullets and 1 rooster (we replaced the roo when the first died) now……

my coop was getting pretty hot when the first one died, so that’s when I started opening the coop up more during the day this week and it was much better, but I still lost another one. What am I doing wrong? I’m also concerned it might be the bedding, I use sawdust that is pretty fine and it concerns me that they could be inhaling it? Maybe I should change the coop bedding because of the dust?

it has also been very hot and humid this summer and just miserable, but I don’t want to lose any more chickens

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. What is your location? Pictures of the inside or outside of your coop could be helpful. First of all, sawdust should not be used for bedding. It can cause cause respiratory issues with mold and no one knows exactly what woods are used. Chickens need a lot of ventilation in coops. Do they get outside during the day to roam? Do they have shade and shaded water? Some heavy breeds do not tolerate hot weather. Have multiple water stations and a flat pan of water for chickens to cool their feet in. If you lose another, you could send the body off to your state vet for a necropsy to get a diagnosis, if heat is not the problem.

 

[Swbertrand1]

Sawdust is not a good choice of bedding for the reason you mentioned. Our local feed store sells Pine Shavings that contain far less dust, and it's easier to work with from our perspective too - not nearly as dusty and messy.

On the heat, do what you can to cool the birds, even if it requires putting temporary fans in the coop and run. Your location is not shown, so we don't know what sort of heat you've been experiencing, but in North Carolina it's been pretty hot for many days this summer. We put bird-bath tops (the bowl section) out for the chickens for them to stand in, even adding ice-cubes to it on really hot day. They also have a water mister that can be turned on that cools the air around the mister. We run multiple fans in the coop and have placed box fans in the run when needed. We also add ice-cubes into their drinking water from time to time.

Others water areas of ground in the early part of the day to provide chickens a cool patch to dig in to beat the heat, but really just take any action you can. Think about it this way: take the things you would do for yourself to beat the heat and apply it to your birds. We even bring ours inside for an hour or so if we see signs of heat stress...

 

[Eggcessive]

I use a fan pointing out of one end of my coop to pull air through the coop from the door. Tiny coops and coops with metal roofs can be hard to cool. 1/2 inch hardware cloth is good to use over windows to keep out predators. Windows can be cut out and on hinges, so they can be closed in winter cold.

Good choices of bedding include pine shavings and sand. Cedar shavings should not be used. Some use straw or hay, but those can harbor mites and moisture.

 

[Swbertrand1]

I use a fan pointing out of one end of my coop to pull air through the coop from the door. Tiny coops and coops with metal roofs can be hard to cool. 1/2 inch hardware cloth is good to use over windows to keep out predators. Windows can be cut out and on hinges, so they can be closed in winter cold.

Good choices of bedding include pine shavings and sand. Cedar shavings should not be used. Some use straw or hay, but those can harbor mites and moisture.

Yep. One of our interior fans is a ceiling mounted exhaust fan that's on a thermostat. If the temp reaches 80 degrees in the upper part of the coop, the fan comes on. As such, it usually runs most of the summer.... :-\