Found my girl dead and smelling like skunk

[gwright6]

Hi i found one of my girls today in a favorite outdoor shaded spot and she was full intact except there were some small feathers around her. No blood, all intact. Her face was wet and she smelled of skunk. I guess my question is, can getting sprayed with skunk fluid in the face kill a chicken. I am trying to figure out if there is more to this story than this. It looks like she was asphyxiated. Anyone have any stories to share with me on this subject?

 

[sourland]

Where are you located. Wet, slimy head/neck on a bird is generally indicative of a snake kill and attempt at swallowing. Fox, mink, skunk and to a lesser degree weasels can give off a musky odor. I seriously doubt that skunk spray could kill a bird.

 

[aart]

How wet and how smelly??

 

[gwright6]

So i went back to where i put her and re examined and she has a big wound in the back of her neck her face looked not wet but with an "oil" based substance on it. I am in Central Texas and beyond that with some small feathers scattered around the incident area, she looks intact. There was no blood anywhere and it wasn't until I pushed back her feathers did i see the hole in her neck. No blood at all .. What does that mean. This is such a mystery. But I feel compelled to figure it out to move to the next level of prevention.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

What is your setup like? Run, yard, coop, etc... I am also in Central Texas and the critters are on the move with the cooler temps. Pictures of your setup and how you manage your birds would be helpful in giving suggestions on how to keep the predators at bay

 

[gwright6]

My girls live in a well built very secure metal chicken coop. When i was building it, I was very concerned about keeping predators out and we have been very fortunate to not have any encounters in side the coop. They have full access to all the land surrounding the coop. The coop is in the back pasture and so they just run wild and I'm now thinking that even though I have 3 dogs that patrol the place, (when I there) I allowed them to hang out in an area of high bushes. I was thinking that it would give them protection against predators but now I think I may have provided a place for predators to seek shelter getting ready for winter. So I am going to mow it all down tomorrow and be more circumspect as to any area that may become a potential haven for animals. My chickens free range and it's gonna be really hard to fence them in after so much time just running around the place Thanks for asking.