Hey There! Newbie from Texas!!

[sacosta]

Hi everyone!
I've been reading BYC since September. We brought home 6 baby chicks late April. As they grew so did their "box". We built a 4x4x4 out of plywood with a 3 foot cut out to reach in. We hung feeder and water systems. This past weekend my husband and I converted a loafing shed into a coop and the stall next to it for storage. The space is about 12x15 w 4 nesting boxes and large branches from fallen trees for roosting. The girls seem to like it fairly well. Unfortunately, this morning our big beautiful ameraucana was found dead. It appears that one of the other chicks pecked her head until she died. Now I am concerned that it might happen again. I am looking to install some sort of camera system that I can view via Internet if anyone has a suggestion. Wondering if the stress of the move to such a large space stressed the girls out so much that this happened. Anyone have any advice for me?
Thanks so much!
Excited to be here!

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you joined us!

 

[drumstick diva]

what a horrible thing to happen. When you are observing them do you notice any bullies? It would be great if you had close circuit tv or something like that (You can see I am not a techie) then you could pinpoint the source of trouble and put it in the soup pot.

 

[redsoxs]

Howdy from Kansas, sacosta, and

! Great to have you with us but sorry to hear about your dead chicken! I'd be interested to see what your camera shows. If you hadn't seen picking on behaviors before I'm wondering if the chicken died of, or was sick from something else and was picked on after it passed. Chickens will attack weakened members. Let us know what you find out. Good luck to you!

 

[CedarAcres]

So sorry about your hen

It could be possible that she died from something else (illness or another predator) and one of your chickens pecked after the fact. I hope you figure out what happened. But welcome to BYC! There are lots of knowledgeable people on here who can give advice when needed.

 

[CherishHolland]

Welcome to BYC, sorry for your loss.

 

[sacosta]

I haven't noticed any bullies! I just figured that they might be stressed from the move. But even letting them free range and interacting with our dogs (in a getting to know you kinda way) they didn't seemed stressed.
I am looking into a camera system to monitor when I cannot be there with them.

 

[sacosta]

She seemed perfectly healthy last night and there are no signs of other animals and the coop is pretty secure. It was odd. My husband said when he came in they were all huddled around her as if to either hide what they had done or protect her.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

 

[liz9910]

Welcome to BYC!