Eight (8) Chickens Died today!

[gingerbaker]

I am POSITIVE the heat killed them.

 

[Kikiriki]

Quote:
Have to agree that a softer touch and some sympathy would have been better.

I saw a post in another thread where a hen was heat stressed. The owner gave her a towel on top of a refreezable ice pack as a nest to help cool her down. Another person said she freezes ice blocks to put in their water every day. Are they going in the coop to seek shade? If they have shade in the run, did they just go in to get to the nest box or food? If so, i'd move both out to the run, and close off access to the coop until the coop cools down. Try putting up a thermometer in the coop and check the temps during the day.

 

[Fritatta]

so sorry.

I am in Georgia. My coop is almost totally wire. (no solid walls). in the winter we keep a heavy gauge plastic sheeting around it with a heat lamp.

I am in North Ga and it was 100 here today. I even put out a tupperware of water in case they wanted to flap around in there. I would imagine if the birds were in an enclosed area, it would be quite tough on them.
is your coop shaded? how much ventilation?

 

[maclady]

Sorry you moms hens died. Hope you all can figure out what happened to them.

 

[awesomefowl]

to your mother!
Maybe add some more vent holes, a fan, or shut them out side? It feels awful to lose birds.

 

[jjthink]

Sorry OP, I know it's upsetting that they died - we are all upset right along with you and your mom. You said your mom said it was "VERY hot in the coop". So while we have no idea what the particular situation was with your mom's coop, we can at least gather that it was "VERY hot". That's probably too hot.

When it's really hot, it's important to do something to bring the temps down (coop temps and/or body temps). There are articles which explain that chickens actually begin to more or less 'cook' at 90 degrees, because they cannot sweat to cool down in the way that we do. The situation can be very urgent at that temp or higher, depending upon the breed, individual constitution and the blasted humidity. This is why fans, ice, cold fruits, temporary relocation to cooler area when possible, can be crucial to avoid death. If all of those things were done and they still died it's one thing but if their basic needs aren't understood and met it's just all the more sad. Don't know what the situation was in this case - the only thing we know is the description of "VERY hot". Maybe it was that hot despite all manner of cooling actions having been taken - don't know.

I'm so very sorry for the loss of your mom's birds.

JJ

 

[fifenashia]

Quote:
Pretty bold statement for a "New Egg". The only thing in life that is "Guaranteed/ positive" is taxes and death.

Sims, I am so sorry your mom had to deal with this today, it is devastating to lose one hen much less a whole flock!

Is there a county extension office or ag office that she could get an autopsy done on one of the hens? It may help to know for sure what happened so she can learn and maybe prevent another tragedy. We lost some hens to a dog when I thought my fence was secured. Turns out... not so secure. We have patched the fence and re-evaluated the free-ranging thing...

On a positive note, these types of conversations open dialogue for others to learn from as well. I had been worrying about my hens in the heat and now we all have great additional ideas to use to help keep them cool.

Again, I am so sorry for both of you and the grief you are experiencing tonight.

 

[gingerbaker]

Not bold, just common sense. Sorry, in this PC world the TRUTH hurts. I feel sad for the suffering the poor hens went through. GB

 

[klpenny]

Oh how sad!

So sorry to hear about your loss.

I have only had my chickens for two months and they have only been outside for two weeks. Still I cannot imagine how I would feel if something like that happened to my girls.
The heat has been very worrisome for us here in Pittsburgh as well. My husband (veterinarian) had a client who lost a 9 month old pup, they left it on the porch for an hour as they ran an errand and came back to find it comatose. When it got hot I opened the gate to let the chickens roam out of desperation that they would be able to find a cool comfortable spot to hang out. Which they did, still my son did say that they looked like melted marshmallows yesterday afternoon as they hung out under one of the pine trees. I have been hosing off my 23 year old mare a couple of times a day to help her keep cool, and my dogs took over the baby pool I kept the chicks in as peeps. I set it out for the chickens but the dogs I suppose are higher up in the "pecking" order.

I really had no intention to let my girls free range but it only took them a couple of days to get into aroutine, they are back in the pen and roosting in their coop before sunset, and are waiting for me to open the gate in the morning, I swear they smell the coffee brewing in the kitchen.

 

[SuperChiks]

Oh My - you poor things. I am a new chicken mom(2 months) and my friends think I'm nuts. Pioneers, Farmers, etc have had chickens for hundreds of years and here I am worried about them in the heat. I've done a lot of reading and found some helpful tips here on the forum.

Its been in the high 90's the past few days here. One thing I make sure is to lay about 3 - 4 frozen water bottles or jugs (milk jugs is best if your freezer can fit it). I read that someone leaves the bottles with the top off so that as the ice melts they can get the cold water that drips so thats what I have been doing. They love it. Other suggestions have been frozen fruit. Doesn't last all that long but is a cool treat. Of course make sure they have shade. I've also seen people use a mister in the pen. I did come across one of those in Lowes for about $20.

Hope your mom is ok and don't let her beat herself up. Keep us posted