2 died

[fatimastic]

I had 4 hens 1 roo.
They got attacked by weasels this morning. Two of them died.
Donut got half eaten by weasels babies. Her neck was bare and head was pale.
Lorpi didn't get eaten, but her head was missing.

We are going to cull the other 3 today.
We started with a flock of 10. Only 2 hens are alive. Lost 5 of them in under 4 months, back to back. Really tired mentally.

I would like to know if they were in pain when they got attacked...
I saw in the cctv footage that the half eaten was attacked on the head, and then the parent weasel came with his babies 10 mins afterwards and left the babies to feed on her.

The place where Lorpi died was not covered by cameras. Her body was fine, intact, not bitten. Her head was missing.

Were they in pain?

 

[Buckingham Palace]

I'm so sorry. Unfortunately I don't know.

 

[Callender Girl]

I am very sorry for your loss. I can't say for sure if your birds suffered or how much they might have been in pain.

For years, I have taken some comfort from a book by Sherwin P. Nuland in which he suggests there are endorphins that kick into high gear that help protect animals against "the emotional and physical dangers of terror and pain" when they are facing a violent death.

Based on my experience with attacks from a mink -- a vicious weasel-type killer -- while there is a lot of panic, the killing is pretty fast. So, I would like to think any suffering was fleeting, too.

Predator attacks are heartbreaking, and exhausting mentally and emotionally. Take care of yourself.

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[fatimastic]

I am very sorry for your loss. I can't say for sure if your birds suffered or how much they might have been in pain.

For years, I have taken some comfort from a book by Sherwin P. Nuland in which he suggests there are endorphins that kick into high gear that help protect animals against "the emotional and physical dangers of terror and pain" when they are facing a violent death.

Based on my experience with attacks from a mink -- a vicious weasel-type killer -- while there is a lot of panic, the killing is pretty fast. So, I would like to think any suffering was fleeting, too.

Predator attacks are heartbreaking, and exhausting mentally and emotionally. Take care of yourself.

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Thank you for giving such kind words. Really needed them...

Only two hens were left out of 10. So we decided to cull them since both of them already had reproductive issues. Now their coop is barren...

I am leaving the country next week for 9 months. I do suppose they all went away before their diseases took the best of them...