Advice please, something got my hen today (((GRAPHIC PIC!!!)))

[TinyBirds]

After seeing the coop and run photos, I would guess raccoon. Are there any loose spots anywhere on the run-netting, or any holes it can squeeze underneath? I have watched raccoons (at midnight) squeezing through tiny spots near the top of our runs, where they mold their bodies to look like jello. They are experts and ripping birds out of the coop also, even with only a 1/2" gap to reach through, usually in the door area. Sorry for your loss.

 

[piper2009]

@Saltysteele, I think she had been dead for a while before I found her, because there were ants all over her, the meat was kinda firm and she was getting stiff.

@saddina, it is very possible that it killed her before we went on the walk then we scared it away when we took the dogs out (we were pretty loud). I didn't check on them for about 2 hours after the walk and that's when I found her. We do have a trap out there but have caught nothing yet.

@TinyBirds, there was one hole that the hens had dug, but it was against the wall of the house, there was maybe 8 inches of space between the wall and the yard. Is that enough space for a raccoon to squeeze into?

Would a raccoon kill an animal and eat it at the same spot, wouldn't he drag it away? Also, why wouldn't he go after the other 7 hens that were in there with her?


Thanks again,
~Alex

 

[saddina]

8 inches is plenty for a racoon to squeeze into. Killing one, beginning to eat, and leaving before killing the rest would be probable. Remember it now knows where the buffet is.

 

[FyreFly]

I would think a raccoon....

 

[1livelychick]

So sorry for your loss.

I would think raccoon , too. I had a similar situation where a coon started dining on one of my frizzels and I interrupted it's breakfast..my hen had the same wounds as your minus the head....her head was gone. Hope you catch that sucker...because as the previous post said..."it knows where there is a buffet"......batton down the hatches and block that gap! Good luck

 

[chickenbottom]

im gonna agree with a bird like a hawk or owl. happened to my jelly but she lived cause her mother exchanged her life to save her. looked exactly the same the holes on the neck and around the middle. im sorry for your loss its very sad to lose them