- Apr 13, 2011
- 28
- 4
- 79
About a month ago, I bought my mother 4 little 6-8 week old pullets & 2 weeks ago added a slightly older cockerel. She has a small pen attached to the coop & has not yet started free-ranging them.
Last Sunday morning, she found the Wyandotte pullet dead in the coop with no obvious signs of illness or trauma & was quite upset. This one was in the middle of the flock as far as age, size & social status. The others were all huddled outside in the pen, as far away as possible.
This morning, she texted me at 6 am that she found the white Plymouth Rock dead in exactly the same manner. This one was the oldest/largest of the girls, the "alpha" hen & her favorite so she is pretty distraught. She said there was a small mark on her neck area. Not sure if she meant on the skin or feathers.
She didn't hear any fighting and she also said that one of the chickens has softer poop than the others but no diarrhea.
With the first one, we thought maybe she had gotten part of a pit left in one of the peaches she gave them, or heat stress or a scorpion or who knows what else.
I kind of discount the heat theory because the deaths are happening at night or wee hours of the morning. Their coop has a fan & an awning over the area for shade. They have 3 waterers plus a "bathing" pan. (The water is from a well w/o chlorine or additives. It's been tested clean in the past.)
The scorpion theory is based more off her seeing one in her car rather than seeing one in the coop. We know they're around, but I don't know that they'd go up in the raised coop to attack chickens.
She didn't quarantine the cockerel, but he came from a local, clean flock & he's a very nice, almost mellow little rooster. Doesn't seem aggressive or rough.
This picture is the Plymouth Rock last night:
Last Sunday morning, she found the Wyandotte pullet dead in the coop with no obvious signs of illness or trauma & was quite upset. This one was in the middle of the flock as far as age, size & social status. The others were all huddled outside in the pen, as far away as possible.
This morning, she texted me at 6 am that she found the white Plymouth Rock dead in exactly the same manner. This one was the oldest/largest of the girls, the "alpha" hen & her favorite so she is pretty distraught. She said there was a small mark on her neck area. Not sure if she meant on the skin or feathers.
She didn't hear any fighting and she also said that one of the chickens has softer poop than the others but no diarrhea.
With the first one, we thought maybe she had gotten part of a pit left in one of the peaches she gave them, or heat stress or a scorpion or who knows what else.
I kind of discount the heat theory because the deaths are happening at night or wee hours of the morning. Their coop has a fan & an awning over the area for shade. They have 3 waterers plus a "bathing" pan. (The water is from a well w/o chlorine or additives. It's been tested clean in the past.)
The scorpion theory is based more off her seeing one in her car rather than seeing one in the coop. We know they're around, but I don't know that they'd go up in the raised coop to attack chickens.
She didn't quarantine the cockerel, but he came from a local, clean flock & he's a very nice, almost mellow little rooster. Doesn't seem aggressive or rough.
This picture is the Plymouth Rock last night:
