Lost two black rocks

[Witness316]

I had two black rocks die over the past two days. One of the hens were sitting on the corpse but it almost looked like the hen was sad. At 13 weeks old, I have no idea why they died. I have ideas but don't really know. There were no peck marks, all the hens have been together since they hatched. There are no signs of cannibalism or anything related to that. No signs of predator involvement. Just two birds dead no explanation. It has been really hot. They have shade and plenty of water. May have been heat related I think as its the only thing I cannot rule out other than some freak medical condition. These birds are in great condition.

 

[SmiYa0126]

It may be the heat, are they all black in color? If so, they get hotter than lighter colored hens.

 

[Witness316]

Yes they are full black with orange hints on the neck. Their feathers are pearlescent when the lights hit them, a rainbow reflects on top of the black, very beautiful hens. I'm so upset about the two I lost

 

[Aunt Angus]

Yes they are full black with orange hints on the neck. Their feathers are pearlescent when the lights hit them, a rainbow reflects on top of the black, very beautiful hens. I'm so upset about the two I lost

I'm so sorry you lost them. They sound lovely.

 

[SmiYa0126]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your beautiful girls, it never gets easy. Can you create more shade for the remaining hens? I also saw some posts where people put out kiddie pools with shallow water so their hens could walk around in them to cool off.

 

[3KillerBs]

I'm so sorry.

In case it was the heat, you might find this information helpful: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/