- Oct 20, 2014
- 14
- 1
- 24
I am still pretty new to taking care of chickens as they were inherited with the house we purchased a few months ago. I am still not certain on which types of chickens I have other than the silkies. The others seem to be hens of course. About a month ago, one of my hens was found dead in the coop one morning. I freaked out and wasn't sure how it might've happened. There was no sign of foul play, no blood or loose feathers lying around. My assumption was that perhaps there was maybe a chicken fight but still unsure. I did not base it off of sickness because all of the other chickens were their usual selves, eating and drinking just fine.
Well, today - I go to the coop to give fresh water and veggies and saw the other twin to the hen that died a month ago, also dead. Now, I'm really freaking out and am upset because I do not know what's going on. I take pretty good care of them and check on them often. Everyone can appear to be fine and eating as usual and then boom - there's a death.
I live in New England (outside of Boston). The past few days, the temperature hasn't been too cold and I know that chickens are ok in the cold and they've been with this house for a few years. This particular chicken is one of my bigger ones. I actually named her "Bully" because she would often bully the other chickens come feeding time, she would stomp around and scare away the other chickens. So I was quite surprised that she was the one who was found dead this morning. I felt bad. With this particular death, I noticed there were a few of her feathers lying around her body on both sides. So, I wasn't sure if there were a pecking session on her from the other chickens or if this might have occurred after she had died.
Oddly, I had noticed that even though the weather has been fairly bearable - they all spent a lot of time in the coop throughout yesterday and the day before. So I'm not sure if some things had been going on since then but normally - they seem to follow each other and either flock outside in the run for a bit or go inside as one or two heads into the coop.
Are there any possible suggestions to consider as to why my girls are dying on me? I thought the one that died a month ago was just a once in the blue type of thing but I'm just confused right now and am afraid for the others. I am not sure how old the chickens are or how to tell but not sure if age is a factor possibly. As I said before, the ones that have died are twins or so I call them because they look exactly a like - color, size, etc. I will try attaching a pic of the chicken as an idea.
Well, today - I go to the coop to give fresh water and veggies and saw the other twin to the hen that died a month ago, also dead. Now, I'm really freaking out and am upset because I do not know what's going on. I take pretty good care of them and check on them often. Everyone can appear to be fine and eating as usual and then boom - there's a death.
I live in New England (outside of Boston). The past few days, the temperature hasn't been too cold and I know that chickens are ok in the cold and they've been with this house for a few years. This particular chicken is one of my bigger ones. I actually named her "Bully" because she would often bully the other chickens come feeding time, she would stomp around and scare away the other chickens. So I was quite surprised that she was the one who was found dead this morning. I felt bad. With this particular death, I noticed there were a few of her feathers lying around her body on both sides. So, I wasn't sure if there were a pecking session on her from the other chickens or if this might have occurred after she had died.
Oddly, I had noticed that even though the weather has been fairly bearable - they all spent a lot of time in the coop throughout yesterday and the day before. So I'm not sure if some things had been going on since then but normally - they seem to follow each other and either flock outside in the run for a bit or go inside as one or two heads into the coop.
Are there any possible suggestions to consider as to why my girls are dying on me? I thought the one that died a month ago was just a once in the blue type of thing but I'm just confused right now and am afraid for the others. I am not sure how old the chickens are or how to tell but not sure if age is a factor possibly. As I said before, the ones that have died are twins or so I call them because they look exactly a like - color, size, etc. I will try attaching a pic of the chicken as an idea.