I just heard a big squawk and a bump and ran down to my little hen house. One of my 20 week old pullets was lying on her back on just outside the door of the coop, dead. I only have (had!) 7 and I visit them several times a day and nothing has seemed to be a problem. Is it even possible she could have gotten jostled off the roost and broken her neck on the bottom door jamb? The doors are open and she was outside on the ground. The coop is raised about 2 feet off the ground and the roosts are another couple of feet higher. If she had died and then fallen, it seems she would be below the roost bars, not looking like she bounced out.
This is my first death (and on the day of my first egg -- different hen), so I'm not sure how worried I should be about the rest. They just looked a little annoyed that I was shining the flashlight at them, otherwise seem fine. No critters visible. The whole coop is wrapped in 1/2 x 1 welded wire and the bottom is buried and/ or aproned. We also checked all around the ground, the floor, etc anyway, but no apparent problems and the dogs would also have let us know if there was any critter around.
Thoughts?
This is my first death (and on the day of my first egg -- different hen), so I'm not sure how worried I should be about the rest. They just looked a little annoyed that I was shining the flashlight at them, otherwise seem fine. No critters visible. The whole coop is wrapped in 1/2 x 1 welded wire and the bottom is buried and/ or aproned. We also checked all around the ground, the floor, etc anyway, but no apparent problems and the dogs would also have let us know if there was any critter around.
Thoughts?
