Found 2 of my 7 hens dead

[PJriffic]

Hello I live in Texas. Not too cold. I had 7 hens. I have them in a pen that is decently predator proofed. I have a net for air predators, 5ft fences for land predators and their coup has an apron all around it. We do deep cleaning every 2 weeks and daily water and food checks. Their water & food dispenser can sustain them for approximately 2 weeks. I didn't get out to see them for 6 days. We went away on a short trip. Yesterday I went to let them out of their coup to roam the yard and found 2 dead. That is the longest amount of time that I left them unattended. But I can't understand what could have happened. They had plenty of food and water. The other hens looked fine. Should I be worried about the others? I took them to the vet for post mortem analysis but I can't imagine what could have happened. Does anyone have any ideas. Is this unusual? I've had chickens now for 3 years and this has never happened. Any suggestions on what I can do to prevent this from happening again would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Anon112]

Were there any signs of injury? Were they in a corner, sprawled out, curled up?

My only advice for next time is to consider a camera like a Ring or something else that lets you look in on them when you are away.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

So sorry this happened. How old were they?

 

[Luv Ducks]

Could the food have gotten any mold in it with being left out that long or the water algae? Just wondering. I have had my scratch grains get mold in it before when kept in my house and not even outside. This is why I ask. Sorry for your loss.

 

[McChooky]

I'd suspect they were attacked if you found 2 dead and don't have a predator proof coop and run (depends on how and where you found them) The industry standard is 1/2" galvanized steel hardware cloth mesh over all opening plus an apron around the bottom.You can't rule out sickness unless you've sent their bodies off for testing. I'm sorry for your loss and hope your chickens are okay.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Their water & food dispenser can sustain them for approximately 2 weeks. I didn't get out to see them for 6 days. We went away on a short trip. Yesterday I went to let them out of their coup to roam the yard and found 2 dead. That is the longest amount of time that I left them unattended. But I can't understand what could have happened. They had plenty of food and water.

I took them to the vet for post mortem analysis but I can't imagine what could have happened. Does anyone have any ideas.

I'm sorry for your losses.

There's no way to know what may have happened. It's good that you have taken the steps to have further analysis.

Keep us posted on what you find out from the Results.

 

[debid]

I hope the post mortem answers questions for you. Predators do notice a reduction in human presence and will get bolder about approaching. If there was any weakness in the fortress, they will find and exploit that given the chance.