Rural Gardening: Chickens: Are larger flocks more vicious? 4 dead hens so far, 1 by Glenda_Michigan

Glenda_Michigan wrote:
No signs of illness. Everyone seems happy as larks. They have a large coop, all the food and water they want, lay lots of eggs, and they free-range on our farm.

So you think the bald spots and the deaths are two separate issues; not related? I know that the life of a free-ranging chicken is kind of dicey, but this is just weird. I thought maybe, when you have 35 chickens, you're bound to loose a few for this and that reasons, but I would rest better if I KNEW why. :-/

Here's a picture of one of the hens with a bald spot. The one that died yesterday, her spot was twice as big.