Hen killed roosters? What to do with hen.

[Zillie]

OK so I believe either both or one of my hens killed my two young roosters. The 2 hens are 4+ years old and are wyandottes, the roosters were Blue Wheaten Marans 3+ months old. The roosters were kept in a wire crate in the hens coop growing up for about a month and then in with the hens freely for just over a week.
The smaller Wyandotte had been flogging the roosters pretty hard over the past week but never actually hurt them, roosters would run away.

Yesterday I switched them to a much larger covered run and this morning (8:30am) I find both roosters dead, belly down with light feather loss but one rooster did have a hole in his belly and a small amount of his intestines hanging out. They were not next to the fencing and both hens were perfectly fine and unharmed.

Would one or both hens kill 2 roosters close to their own size? I am expecting a new set of chicks to come at the end of the month and am worried that this hen may kill the new comers (Once they are old enough/big enough to be introduced).

I have already lost most my flock to dogs/ 1 to possible hawk and would really like to have more than just 2 old hens..


What other animal would get through chain link, kill birds without removing a bunch of feathers, cause small rip in belly but not eat or drag the bird off? There is a creek that runs close to the run.
Does this seem like a rat or is it really my hen who probably did this?

Thanks..

 

[ChickenCanoe]

While all things are possible, I think you're dealing with a predator.
That's too much damage to be done from dawn to 8:30 AM by hens since the hens wouldn't attack anything at night.
A weasel can easily get into chain link or possibly a rat.

ETA
I just read about the creek. Weasels and mink almost always stick to waterways.

 

[Zillie]

Would a weasel/rat get through chicken wire or would bird netting deter them?
Their old run was also a chain link kennel right next to the new one but nothing tried getting them in that one.
The neighbor did mention that she found a big dead rat in her husky's kennel the other day so I know there are rats around.
Would a weasel go in a live trap if that is set up or has anyone tried a good repellent?

I've lived at this location for 5 months and all my hens are getting killed off. 3 by dogs, 3 by an unknown predator...
The latest hen killed was during the day in the middle of the back yard. She was out with the other 2 hens alone for about an hour. I found her dead with very few missing feathers but she had two decent size holes on both sides of her back end. She also wasn't eaten... She was warm when I found her, the rooster's were cold and stiff.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That tells me they got killed during the night when the hens weren't the culprit.
I'd go with a live trap and dog proof leg hold traps, a game cam and lock the birds in a predator proof coop at dusk. The hen killed during the day and not eaten sounds like a dog too.
I've lost as many to dogs as I have to raccoons. I keep a loaded shotgun on the back porch for dogs. (mostly neighbor's dogs)

 

[Zillie]

The entire yard is fenced. One of the dogs that killed 2 hens in one go was my own, she was great with them for years and then she turned for whatever reason. The other was the neighbor's husky who scaled the fence but most the time her dogs are kenneled. She denied it was her dog the second time and I tend to believe her as the first hen was torn to shreds and the neighbor was there quick to stop it..
There are hawks around here but I didn't see any out that day.

I just lined the entire kennel with bird netting since I had it on hand and will get a live trap. I think the leg hold traps are illegal in GA but I could be wrong. I was also thinking about setting up a trail cam like you suggested, that would without a doubt solve this...

 

[donrae]

I'm thinking weasel, also. I had a pet ferret once that went after some chickens and left similar marks. He sure didn't want to eat them, or at least not right then. Really doesn't sound like the hens at all. When I've lost chicks to hens there's a lot of pecking to the head/eyes/neck, not so much to the belly or body.

 

[cravenchx]

Our chickens are three years old. Ten hens and one agitated rooster. Yesterday I went out to the coop and there were feathers everywhere! Then looked out in the covered run to find my rooster dead. Do you think the hens were tired of him and he had made them mad for the last time? If a varmint had gotten in the run, which I see no signs of, would it not have taken out the whole flock?

 

[centrarchid]

Our chickens are three years old. Ten hens and one agitated rooster. Yesterday I went out to the coop and there were feathers everywhere! Then looked out in the covered run to find my rooster dead. Do you think the hens were tired of him and he had made them mad for the last time? If a varmint had gotten in the run, which I see no signs of, would it not have taken out the whole flock?

I seen numerous times where predator takes only victim per visit. Show picture of kill site and carcass.

 

[cravenchx]

Carcass has been taken care of. Don't see where predator entered or exited. Most feathers were inside of coop. There were some black feathers, max was white, scattered in the run. So, you don't think the hens would have taken him down?

 

[centrarchid]

I have never had hens take a rooster down.