Eight (8) Chickens Died today!

[SimsCK]

We're in Georgia, and my mother has a small flock of hens. When she went out to feed this morning, one hen was dead in the coop. This evening when she went back to feed, SEVEN were dead! The temperature's have been hoovering around 95 degrees here the past few days. Was it the heat that killed them??? My mother said it was VERY hot in the coop! One of the poor hens died sitting on the nest. Sad day in Georgia......

 

[Player Hater]

hmm, maybe

people tend to worry about the cold when the heat is actually more dangerous

 

[bryan99705]

Get a saw out and start cutting in ventilation for those birds and covering the holes with wire! There is no excuse for killing birds due to heat, heat in Georgia is as much a surprise as snow is in Alaska! Get them some moving air inside and shade outside.

 

[Katydid2011]

Heat is far more dangerous for chickens than cold. If the coop's that hot you need to add cross ventilation ASAP and don't cover it with chicken wire, use 1/4" hardware cloth. It's more expensive but it will keep predators out whereas chicken wire will not. You can also add a fan to your chicken coop - just a regular oscillating or box fan - and add ice to their water when it's that hot.

 

[bryan99705]

Sorry, I hunt & fish for the table but it is upsetting when an animal has to die needlessly because their care giver does not give them the same consideration they give themself, not saying chickens need AC but at least give them some air. Sorry again about the buttchewing, if you need some ideas please post some pictures and we would be glad to offer ideas.

 

[turtlebird]

sorry for your losses....

On hot/humid summer days I change their water often to keep it cool and turn on the fan in the coop. Ventilation is key, cover all ventilation with hardware cloth. Try to offer shade. Some people put out a shallow pan with water in in for the ladies to dip their feet in to try to cool off.
Hope you don't have any more losses. What type of birds do you have? Some chickens are more heat tolerant than others.
Good luck.

 

[jjthink]

So sad and so preventable most of the time, with fans to keep the air moving, ice in water, shade, cold fruit, etc.

JJ

 

[SimsCK]

First of all to those of you with your NEGATIVE comments, KEEP THEM TO YOURSELF!

My mother is an EXCELLENT care giver for her flock. The chickens aren't cooped up, they have a 12x12 run which they use. The chickens were found in the coop, as they apparently went inside to be cool, and instead the heat killed them.

If you can't offer some positive advice or suggestions, DON'T POST!. For God's sake, my mother lost eight of her chickens and she's devastated!

 

[speckledhen]

I believe some of you jumped the gun here. No one knew the coop setup at all, nothing was mentioned about fans or ventilation, and quick assumptions were made.

To the OP, yes, it could have been the heat. Even here in the mtns of GA, it's like a blast furnace. We have multiple fans running in each coop and have been replacing water all day long and still, I fear some of my older hens may not make it through this horrible heatwave. It's way hotter than normal for my location at 2000 ft elevation and is not going to let up for days, it seems. Freeze water in bottles, then lay them out in the pen for them to lay against. It's like mini-air conditioners. That's what I did for my old hens today with a gallon jug of frozen water. Chickens don't do well in temps over 85 degrees and needs lots of attention to keeping their body temps down. Even just running some water in the pens to cool down the ground helps. Even after all you can do, you can still lose chickens in extreme heat. I'm sorry about your mom's hens.

 

[seminolewind]

I could point a finger, however, I once almost killed my silkie because I slept late (I work nights), and left her and others in the coop, but they ran out of water. I found her laying on her side. Thank God she lived, and I still have her. But I would have never expected it to happen to me.

Now all my chickens get fresh water every day, or sometimes the night before. I have some high power fans in each coop, and they are outside in the shade all day till it cools off a bit.