My chicks are about 4 weeks old and have been in their coop for about a week now. Yesterday morning I noticed that one of them looked a little out of sorts (not moving much, just standing still with his feathers a bit puffed out), so I resolved to keep an eye on him. We had storms most of the afternoon (some thunder and lightning and hail and almost 8" of rain), so the chicks stayed in the coop from about noon on. They looked fine when I checked in to feed and water them at dusk. More thunder and lightning and rain came through overnight, and this morning my husband found the chick limp and cold in the coop.
All of the other chicks look well and burst out into their yard when we got up this morning, pecking and chirping in delight.
I suppose it's possible the l'il guy suffocated if the other chicks piled on top of him during the thunderstorm. Since he wasn't feeling well in the first place, he might not have been able to wrestle out from under the pile. It was one of the chicks with the most feathering and up until yesterday was looking very strong and healthy. There aren't any signs of illness in the flock at all, and we are rigorous about cleanliness with them, so I'm not suspicious (yet) of any bacterial origin.
So, any ideas as to what killed my chick?
TIA,
Corly
I suppose it's possible the l'il guy suffocated if the other chicks piled on top of him during the thunderstorm. Since he wasn't feeling well in the first place, he might not have been able to wrestle out from under the pile. It was one of the chicks with the most feathering and up until yesterday was looking very strong and healthy. There aren't any signs of illness in the flock at all, and we are rigorous about cleanliness with them, so I'm not suspicious (yet) of any bacterial origin.
So, any ideas as to what killed my chick?
TIA,
Corly
