Hello from South Australia

I DID have three hens:



Until Sunday when I found all three huddled in a corner of the coop, stone dead. No idea why all three would have died. The weather was hot, but not as hot as we have had this summer (about 40°C.) I guess something scared them and with the heat that did for them.

The brown hens (Rhode Island Reds??) were reliable layers, the white one, a Leghorn?, took lots of holidays from laying.

With a couple of friends will build a bigger & better coop and an even bigger run.



I can only let the chooks out into the garden for limited time—I have a terrier which you can see in my avatar

 

Thank you for your welcome.

Yeah, was a grim business digging a deep hole in the heat then dragging the birds one by one into the hole.

I think possibly a snake or lizard scared them (a sleepy lizard or bearded dragon do put up fearsome looking displays and that with the heat did for them.

So now looking for ideas for a bigger and better coop, with more insulation and lifted further off the ground. Also looking to give my new girls a dry area by cutting one section of an old round metal rainwater tank into two, will give a 5' by 6' by 3' high area where rain won’t reach and they can have their dustbaths even in our wet winters, put the feeders and waterer in there too. Have a couple of misters to help keep the birds cool.