This morning at 6am i went out to check on my four babies as i do every morning and i could see three of them outside, which is unusual i thought sense they are normally still in the coop at that time. I looked in the run and whistled, yet still only three. I looked in the coop and immediatly noticed one of my white leg chicks (7 weeks old) laying on the floor dead. Upon closer inspection i noticed a large patch of feathers missing on it's neck and it was wet from its beak to its shoulders (it rained last night). The only cause of death i can surmise is that it got its head caught in the chicken wire and in the struggle probably broke its neck, freed herself and made it into the coop and died. My first thought was a predator but upon close inspection there were no signs of a break-in. I have heard of chickens getting their head stuck in the wire and dying before so that is my best theory at this time. Today i will replace the chicken wire with a finer mesh to prevent this in the future.
Needless to say i am now done to 3 chicks. I originally started with 6 (that was the minimum you could buy from TSC). I really only wanted four so at five weeks of age i re-homed two of them with a teacher colleague at work. Ideally i would like to have 4 or 5 chickens. Is there anyone out there in the Tidewater Va. area that would like to re-home a Plymouth Barred Rock or an Easter Egger?
Needless to say i am now done to 3 chicks. I originally started with 6 (that was the minimum you could buy from TSC). I really only wanted four so at five weeks of age i re-homed two of them with a teacher colleague at work. Ideally i would like to have 4 or 5 chickens. Is there anyone out there in the Tidewater Va. area that would like to re-home a Plymouth Barred Rock or an Easter Egger?
