Tough morning here. Our favorite little girl, Phyllis, a gray & white Polish pullet, was found dead on the floor of the coop, a short while ago. She (I say she, only because her name was Phyllis, we had never determined her gender, but THINK she's likely a girl) was the friendliest of all of our chickens. She liked to hang out near us, when she was out, and free ranging. She was always wanting to be held, and my grandson, who got here 3 weeks ago, scared of the birds, had become best buddies with her. He was giving her frequent attention, and she ate it up. The past few days, she had been a little less active. We thought she might be getting ready to lay her first egg. Yesterday, we found a TINY brown egg, on the floor of the coop, near where she liked to hang out. I thought it might be hers, until we found out that she should be laying white eggs, when she starts laying.
Well, it's been oppressively hot and humid here. The coop has tons of ventilation, and is actually cooler than the area around it. But, I suspect that the heat is what got her. She's been very healthy, and there are no signs of any problems with the other chickens. BUT, we have guineas and turkeys in separate cages, and one turkey, is also acting like he's giving up. Every other bird, seems to be thriving, and very active. So, I have the turkey separated from the rest of his flock, trying to give him water, and food, all his own, but he seems to have no interest. I expect that he won't make it through the day. But, we can hope.
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