Perplexed....chicken died..strange behavoirs??

[mvinotime]

Last week I lost one of my hens. She was fine as usual that morning when I let all four hens out to range. Everyone went to coop that evening as is their habit and she was roosting on perch inside coop when I locked them up for the night. Next morning when I went to let them out she wasnt waiting so I opened egg door to check and see if she was laying and she was dead She was laid out in her nesting box below where she was perched that previous night. No signs of ANY trauma and didnt appear to be egg bound etc,. We buried her under her favorite apple tree. My issue now is that since that day my other hens do NOT want to go back to their coop at night. They all bedded down in horse stall that night. We caught and put in coop and I left for couple days with no ranging and tried again but again no luck. So caught and put them back in again. Left couple more days and tried again. Now one hen is going in on her own and she is the ONLY hen laying now as well. Other two are still going to barn etc. So they are again locked up. It is so odd that they are doing this as prior to now they have NEVER missed a night in their coop. We scoured entire coop for any signs of anything getting in and there was nothing disturbed and nothing anywhere in the coop. Anyone else experience this? Could it be because she was dead in there overnight with them? It is very hot here now...100+ all week (although it was only in 80's when I lost hen last week) Only other thing that was different was about four days before I lost her I cleaned entire coop of all old shavings and replaced with nice new thick layer of shavings. I do this couple times a year otherwise just scoop clean daily. Anything jumping out at anyone??? Any insight appreciated ....thank you.

 

[Cotton42]

I don't have any ideas, but I'm sorry for your loss. It's hard to lose a chicken like that.

 

[lorijohnson823]

That is very strange. But I have come up with nothing, as well. I am sorry to hear about your poor little chicken.

 

[flewdacoop]

another hard thing to come up with a answer sorry for your loss..

 

[Malibu99]

Just an idea- could it have been a predator? Sorry for your loss. *hugs*


ETA- I'm not sure of any predators that can get in without breaking the coop. Maybe a snake?

 

[mvinotime]

thank you for your replies. It was very sad as earlier this year I had a big plymouth Rock roo that as he got older really started being vicious to the hens and he nearly killed this hen, Ethel, and I was able to nurse her back to health so I had a special attachment to her and yes he went Bye Bye I dont have an answer either and it is so odd. I am going to try leaving them in for a week or so and see how it goes after that. This is my first summer as a chicken owner and I am almost wondering if my coop is just too hot inside for them so maybe they are trying to find a more open cooler spot at night? Except that it started on one of our much cooler days and they had gone back every night before including 100 plus weather ;( Just a mystery.

 

[Life is Good!]

I would suspect it's heat related. Our Black Java's are staying out WAY later than usual, and I attribute it to the heat. I even found 'em scrambling around on their ROOF one evening - just trying to catch a breeze in this muggy hot weather. They did eventually go into their coop, but with great reluctance.

Could you put up a temporary fence (with t-posts and 100' of 4' high fencing) around their coop, so they weren't completely locked in all day? Won't work if they're fliers, but perhaps being stuck so close to home might help them out.

Sorry you've lost a beloved hen. that's hard.

 

[mvinotime]

You may be right...it just may be too hot in there. But they already a very good sized completely enclosed on all sides and top with buried fencing run surrounding the actual elevated coop. When I leave them locked up they hang out underneath the elevated coop and I have been wetting that area as well. There is also a large tree next to the entire coop/run that provides alot of shade thru put a large portion of the day. So they arent even going into the run portion where the food and water and more perches are at night now...let alone the actual coop. But again, maybe they are just finding the horse stall more comfortable during the heat? Soo hard to tell.....hope they go back to normal soon Thanks for the rpelies!

 

[Mrs. K]

sometimes they get notional, and often, for no real reason, they will start laying in some nest of their own design.

 

[SouthDakotan]

But moisture isn't the only thing that cools. It sometimes makes it more miserable (humidity). Air flow is also important and that is something they likely are looking at too. We forget often they are walking around with "down coats" on. Birds that aren't trapped go to cool shaded, breezy spaces and wait out the heat. The hens are unfortunately trapped and have less options. My aunt used to use a box fan, hung up in one corner of the coop. Another aunt used a pedestal system that moved side to side, making it so a breeze was created.

I'm sure if the hens had their way, they'd like to have our a/c systems in their nest area!