[Connor]

I came out to my chucks this morning and one hen was sitting down and fluffing herself up then we I came home 2 hours later she was dead any reasons why it happened would it be the cold??

[doganjo]

Depends on where they are at night, what age she was, and whether she showed any signs of illness before today - could be anything i'm afraid. 

[chrismahon]

Cold could be a contributing factor Connor. As Doganjo says the primary cause could be anything, but the cold will hit an out of condition bird first. Just keep them out of draughts in cold weather, that's really important as disturbing the feathers opens the insulation layer. If your birds are shivering on one leg they are OK. If they are motionless on two legs they have hypothermia. We've had one cock who took three days to recover -standing in the snow with both feet down is a bit of a giveaway!

[Connor]

Ok thanks all I have them in my polytunnel with a heat lamp that is on during the night!

[HesterF]

Blimey! No, it shouldn't be cold then. Are they inside during the day as well? I hadn't even thought about using a heat lamp for adult birds - even in winter. They weren't particularly happy with deep snow last winter but did make their way through it to get to the goose shed! The change of season may have exacerbated it but not caused by cold unless she was featherless or something?

[Clansman]

Could just be its time Connor.

as with any animal (even us) there is a steady mortality rate right through the normal lifespan.

With a large number of animals you see it better, in large commercial flocks or even the bigger flocks kept at home we used to see anything up to 3% mortality throughout the flock life.

If you just keep a few then the number that die are minimal and a sudden death is more likely to raise questions.