nhcountrygirl
Hatching
- May 1, 2016
- 9
- 0
- 7
Hello, not sure if this is the correct forum, but I am looking for input on the cause of death. My hens are about 6 months old - 3 BOs, 1 RIR. Have not had any illness or behavior issues. They have a coop inside of a 10x20 dog kennel, with chicken wire across the top.
Today I found my favorite hen. There were no signs that something had gotten in, unless it was small and sleek and could wriggle through the door gap. But no scratched dirt, holes in the "roof", or anything indicating an attempt at entry. She was relatively intact - missing feathers and skin on her neck and head, but no other "damage" that my husband or I saw (although TBH we were pretty upset and didn't spend too much time analyzing). Could this be the work of a predator or did the murder occur from within? I have so many thoughts (other hens killed her, predator attacked and got chased off by the others, she just died and got pecked at by the others...) and I'm just looking to see which might be the most plausible, so I can try and prevent another mishap. I've never had chickens before and this totally came out of the blue. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Today I found my favorite hen. There were no signs that something had gotten in, unless it was small and sleek and could wriggle through the door gap. But no scratched dirt, holes in the "roof", or anything indicating an attempt at entry. She was relatively intact - missing feathers and skin on her neck and head, but no other "damage" that my husband or I saw (although TBH we were pretty upset and didn't spend too much time analyzing). Could this be the work of a predator or did the murder occur from within? I have so many thoughts (other hens killed her, predator attacked and got chased off by the others, she just died and got pecked at by the others...) and I'm just looking to see which might be the most plausible, so I can try and prevent another mishap. I've never had chickens before and this totally came out of the blue. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
