I've just lost my second hen in the last month. What should I do next.

[rlkern]

Hi all. I just went out to feed the girls their dinner and found my favorite barred rock dead in the coop. I lost a black sex link about 4 weeks ago. What should I do next? We just buried the black sex link but I'm thinking I need to make sure nothing is going on in the flock as far as disease. This barred rock was fine this morning. I do need to say that here in Kansas, the heat indexes are in the tripple digits.

 

[redhen689]

How old was she, do they have access to shade? We need more information.

 

[Cpprpnny19]

Heat is most likely the cuplrit-

 

[rlkern]

Both of them were about 1.25 years old so relatively young. They have shade all over the chicken pen (which is outside, fenced area of a relatively decent size, and there are like 8 watering containers throughout the pen as well as one in the coop itself. 3 of those were refilled this morning. She was by far the heaviest bird of the bunch. She's been eating fine, etc. With all the water they have been drinking, most of their poop is water if I can say it that way.

 

[rlkern]

If it was heat, what else can I do to help the rest of the girls? I just added 11 more hens this spring and one of my older girls has a baby chick of her own. I have 3 fans going in the coop itself: one pulling hot air out and the other two facing each end of the coop. I found her under the ladder going up to the roosting spot.