Could she have 'just died'?

[SlipsWife]

Ok, I don't think she just died but not knowing what happened is killing me. We were down to 3 red sex link pullets, 6+ weeks old. They were extremely healthy, the ones we had lost were due to our dog. We let them out of their coop to free rang for a couple of hours. All of our dogs were inside so we ran to TSC to grab a few things. We've left them out before and they've done great. When we got back about 45 mins later we decided to put them back in their run so the dogs could go outside. They are usually together so when we saw one by herself, we knew something was wrong. The other girl was not far away but they were both almost scattered. We found the other one a little ways away on her back with a little bit of blood at the corner of her mouth. No missing feathers, no bite marks, no sign of struggle. If it weren't for the fact the other 2 seemed scared I would have thought she just died. We do have hawks in the area but our yard has a large number of trees that we felt protected them.

So, could she have just died? Could it have been a hawk that maybe dropped her? Could she have ate something (there's a plant that our dogs are always eating but they are fine)? We got everything set up to keep them safe from our dogs and now this. I don't want to let them free range if we can't get them safe. We have little guys in the brooder and more coming in a couple of weeks, at this rate I feel like selling everyone if I can't keep them safe.

 

[HeatherEmme]

I'm still waiting on my first chicks to come in around May so I have no real knowledge about this sorta stuff BUT just a guess here....blood around the beak is probably evidence of some kind of trauma. Perhaps something attempted to take her and was unsuccessful?

Don't give up yet! If it's possible, just put them back in the coop if you're planning to run out for a bit.

Sorry for your loss

 

[happyfarmer325]

So sorry for your loss, and I can relate to wanting to give up, but try not to! I got extremely discouraged when we had an extremely unlucky week with predators and did not want to keep a flock of birds if I could not keep them relatively safe. My boyfriend would not hear of giving up, so his dedication helped.
We had a series of attacks from various animals, but the last was from our dog. It was the first time one of the dogs had attacked a bird (we have a mixed flock) and also the last (since then we built a 3 acre pen). However, it seems worth mentioning that we interrupted that attack and although poor Mullet did not make it, there was not a drop of blood on her. So I would assume what you had was an interrupted attack.

Again, very sorry, I sure know how you feel and it is never fun. There is always the chance that this sort of thing will happen but we do the best we can and I hope you stick with it!!

 

[El Pollo Guapo]

Sorry for your loss, SlipsWife.
My best guess would be predator attack, especially with your other two gals showing signs of distress.
We live on a canyon rim with lots of predators (lost our two angels last year to hawks).
Today I'm building a larger, covered run for our new chicks.
Just an FYI, we have quite a few trees, and I've see our local hawks sitting in them waiting for an opportunity. I've read threads on here with ideas for low to the ground shelters that give the girls a place to hide, and will set some up before I free-range again. I also have a couple of young roo's to keep an eye in the sky...
Don't throw in the towel!

 

[SlipsWife]

Thank you everyone for your replies. We lost one bantam at 4 days (he was tiny) and a leghorn at almost a month (there was always something 'off' with her) then the dog killed 4 and then he got to another 1. Now with the loss yesterday we are down to 2 from our original group. 20% isn't very encouraging! We have 13 in the brooder and 30 coming soon we've got to get this figured out.

I'm leaning towards hawk too which is frustrating because we could have prevented it. I guess we're going to have to get a portable tractor to make sure they are safe.

ETA: Hopefully we have a good roo (not to many though!) in the brooder to help with protection.