Hi all, I had my healthiest 8 month old ("alpha") black sex link hen turn up dead overnight in the chicken house. She was laying fine, eating lots, acting as feisty as usual and then this morning, on her side stiff (no visible wounds or neck injury or illness signs). We live in the Pac NW, and it did drop down to 35 degrees last night, but we have a heat lamp in the house on for them and none of the others appear ill. Any thoughts on what might have done this?
Sorry for your loss. When my favorite hen died suddenly I grabbed her eggs out of the fridge and put them in an incubator, and I'm glad I did, since they are turning out very sweet like her.
So sorry about your pullet. It's so hard losing them, especially when they're your favorites. Check your coop/run for any gaps where something like a mink could get in. Mink are sneaky and their signs are so subtle they can be easily missed quite easily. You may find tiny puncture wounds on the neck which would indicate that type of predator. Just a word of precaution when using artificial heat. Chickens do extremely well in the cold. What kills them faster than the cold is moisture and drafts. Having a heat lamp + body heat + droppings adds moisture and that can kill them. Also consider what will happen to your flock in the event of a power outage when they count on the lamp for warmth. Think dry and well-ventilated but draft free and your flock will pull through the cold months just fine. If you have the space, you can add bales of hay inside their coop for insulation or build it up along the outside. You also run the risk of starting a fire in your coop with the lamps.