I killed my flock :’(

[21hens-incharge]

Actually, Auto coop doors are really useful.
Our's is a little different. We have a camera in our coop, hooked to my phone so I can always see who and what is in the coop. When all the birds are in, we can set the coop door to close then and there. I don't use it all the time, but it's useful on vacation when you don't have people who can come and open and close the doors every morning and evening.

So there's an app for that?

Cool!

 

[Snowingamanda]

I feel your pain. I think everyone who has had chickens for any length of time likely has made mistakes that have caused damage. I know I have.
No matter where one lives, a coop in full sun is a bad idea. If it can't be placed where there is shade, it is imperative to plant trees and make use of shade cloth. Farm Tek carries a 90% shade cloth that is very effective.
No matter how good one thinks their ventilation is, improvements can still be made. 1 square foot of ventilation per bird is essential. My buildings have huge hardware cloth covered openings on both East and West walls. They are approximately 3'X4' along with several smaller openings. They are also built under tall trees and are in shade most of the day. You also mentioned that the coop was small. How small is small?

When we had our coop on the other side of the house that is fenced in and has plenty of shade, our neighbors asked to move them, and the only place we had left was on the sunny side that is exposed to the wilderness. Now no one complains about them but the heat and the predators has been a real threat. I’m thinking to plant grapevines or some berry bushes alongside the fence, but we only had a house for 1 year, and already Jade to install electric fencing and other safety measures, so we have very limited means to invest into buying vegetation to plant or automatic feeders, or new chickens, for that matter .
The coop is smallish, but not so small as those Walmart ones. It’s good for 4-6 chickens I think. The side that was fencing the sun is entirely made of wire mesh which is entirely covered by a very heavy duty shade cloth all the way to the ground, so when they were able to go under the coop in the shade and have water they were okay even on the hottest days...
When I feel like I can even go in there again, and when we have more means, I’d have to think if water can be installed inside and the coop turned so that the mesh side is away from the sun. It’s a long but narrow strip of land, so I can’t ever fit a more heavy duty coop that would offer better heat insulation.

 

[Snowingamanda]

Actually, Auto coop doors are really useful.
Our's is a little different. We have a camera in our coop, hooked to my phone so I can always see who and what is in the coop. When all the birds are in, we can set the coop door to close then and there. I don't use it all the time, but it's useful on vacation when you don't have people who can come and open and close the doors every morning and evening.

Amazing!

 

[Chebird]

I am so, so, so sorry, and I understand your pain. I'm praying for you and your daughter.

 

[ValerieJ]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I do understand how you feel. I recently lost 3 birds to an eagle attack, one outright, another that I nursed for a week before she died and a third who died of shock a few days after the attack. I felt terrible that I was giving Ethel epsom salt baths every day and trying to treat her wound, when I should have saved her all the pain and put her down the first day. I was so worried about her that I didn't pay too much attention to Rosie, who was standing off on her own all the time under a tree. I could see she was feeling scared or something, but had no idea she would die, so I did nothing for her. I just went into high gear for Ethel and on making their chicken run more eagle proof. It's heart breaking. I'm just saying, we are all doing the best we can for them, and sometimes we just don't get it right. We know how you feel.

I have a suggestion for inside water. I have seen others on here do it with pvc pipes, both for the water and the food inside the coop. The actual container can be outside the coop. I haven't done this, but when we build a new coop next year we will incorporate it.

I think you should get some chicks and start over. I don't know how big your coop is, but just remember, the coop should be 4 SF per bird. We have added coops as we added birds to keep that minimum ratio, but I do find that several will cram into one small coop anyway. Oh well, at least they have the options.

 

[Snowingamanda]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I do understand how you feel. I recently lost 3 birds to an eagle attack, one outright, another that I nursed for a week before she died and a third who died of shock a few days after the attack. I felt terrible that I was giving Ethel epsom salt baths every day and trying to treat her wound, when I should have saved her all the pain and put her down the first day. I was so worried about her that I didn't pay too much attention to Rosie, who was standing off on her own all the time under a tree. I could see she was feeling scared or something, but had no idea she would die, so I did nothing for her. I just went into high gear for Ethel and on making their chicken run more eagle proof. It's heart breaking. I'm just saying, we are all doing the best we can for them, and sometimes we just don't get it right. We know how you feel.

I have a suggestion for inside water. I have seen others on here do it with pvc pipes, both for the water and the food inside the coop. The actual container can be outside the coop. I haven't done this, but when we build a new coop next year we will incorporate it.

I think you should get some chicks and start over. I don't know how big your coop is, but just remember, the coop should be 4 SF per bird. We have added coops as we added birds to keep that minimum ratio, but I do find that several will cram into one small coop anyway. Oh well, at least they have the options.

Thank you, I’m sorry to hear about your chickens too. I will look up pvc waterer for inside the he coop, thank you!

 

[townchicks]

When I feel like I can even go in there again, and when we have more means, I’d have to think if water can be installed inside and the coop turned so that the mesh side is away from the sun. It’s a long but narrow strip of land, so I can’t ever fit a more heavy duty coop that would offer better heat insulation.

It may be way to soon for this, but if and/or when you're thinking about new chicks, you could post some pics of your area and coop, and we can help you brainstorm ways to deal with the heat. For my small coop, overhead shade is the only way to keep it within reasonable temps. I have mine under a canvas shade canopy, but it was not cheap, and there are lots of less expensive ways to get shade quickly. Such as a pergola made from pallets, perhaps. I'm not sure, honestly, if having water in the coop would have saved them. I lost one to heat a couple weeks back, in shade, with plenty of water available. She was molting heavily, so her poor body was already stressed. This is life in California in summer. ( the price we pay for not having to dig our way to the coop in winter )

 

[jlwquilter]

I’m really sorry this happened. It’s so upsetting especially when we did play a role in it. I’ve done some stuff out of ignorance that cost a chicken’s life. And worse I’ll probably do more. I’ve often the past few months considered calling it quits as it’s really hard to take the losses. But the happiness does outweigh the pain for me so I’m sticking with it and learn from my mistakes. I hope you can do that as well.

You can go even cheaper with an inside waterer. Water won’t last more than a day or 2 but it’s way better than nothing.

Take a plastic bottle with a screw on top. I’ve mainly used 64 oz Gatorade bottles but soda liter or any other similar will work. Find a bowl that the bottom of the bottle fits into and still has room around it big enough for the chickens to get their beak in. Bowls that flare out work best I found. I’ve used Chinese food containers and cheap plastic cereal bowls. Cut a hole into the plastic bottle toward the bottom, about a 1/4” below where the rim of the bowl hits.

Fill the bottle up, covering the hole with your finger. Screw top back on tight. Tip the bottle over into the bowl (you can fill the bowl up first also). The water will come out and fill the bowl to right above the hole. Water pressure will stop the water flow. When the chickens drink and the water goes below the hole the water will Flow out and fill back up to Cover the hole.

I use 2 zip ties - one as a collar around the bottle neck and the 2nd to make a loop thru that collar.

Then it’s the tricky part. I take a brick or 2 and place it against the wall where I want the waterer to be. I place the bottle/bowl combo on that to get the height needed. Then I screw a cup hook into the coop wall to hang the loop on so the bottom of the bowl rests on the brick. Done!

The waterer is up off the floor so less dirt in it and less chance knocking it over. It’s not a perfect solution but it’s fast cheap and works.
And takes up Very little floor space - just the brick size.

Making the water hole I found a little hard in the beginning as I had to use ‘hand tools’. I found using the sharp tip of a steak knife to break thru the plastic bottle side worked. Then I use a big screw to then screw into the bottle side using the pilot hole the steak knife tip made. That goes easy. Wiggle it around a bit. screw it back out. Done! Takes about 2 minutes to do.

Best wishes for whatever you decide to do!

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

I'm so very sorry to hear of your loss.

I know that sinking feeling when you realize that something bad has happened and it's even worse when you know it's your own mistake.
I have lost 3 hens in the past due to my own inexperience and ignorance. Thank goodness I found BYC and can now tap the brains of more experienced chook owners! I am hoping that, with all the great information and advice available here I will make fewer mistakes and have the tools necessary to head off any future problems before they become unsolvable.

It was a terrible, but human oversight. It was a mistake and sometimes mistakes happen. You sound like a compassionate person so please be kind to yourself in your grief.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. We have all made mistakes or had mishaps that we we have regretted. Your experience and others of us who read about it, hopefully will make us all more careful to doublecheck our chickens. I would think about making shade either by moving your coop, planting trees, or using shade cloth to make it cooler. Coops need to be larger and have more ventilation than most think. I always have water and food available inside and outside my coop, just in case of an emergency when I might not be able to let them out. I have a predator proof run, and I keep my coop door open so they can get outside to fresh air if the coop gets too hot. The coop has a lot of windows covered with hardward cloth to prevent even small predators. Hopefully, this will not keep you from trying to raise chickens when you feel ready.