Broken neck?

[ChickyWhicky]

I just discovered my Goldie boy dead... I have no idea what happened, looking for input. I found his body laying next to the fence, his head and neck were through the fence. My initial thought is that he stuck his head through fence, got stuck & broke his neck. Or he was stuck so bad he couldnt get free and over heated to death during the struggle. It was over 100 degrees today... Fairly certain it was not an attack, no blood, no teeth marks. Dogs were out and about, no signs of intruder. Rest of the birds were fine and in coop ready for bed. I was literally outside with the flock a few hours earlier and everybody appeared normal. What do you think happened? I am pretty devastated... He was my only buff orpington and my sweetest roo. RIP Goldie Im so sorry I wasnt there to help...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry for your loss.

No way to know what happened.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Is it possible a raccoon is roaming around and was interrupted?

 

[ChickyWhicky]

It is possible, absolutely. I just imagine it would be tough to get around the dogs. No wounds on the bird. Maybe something did attack but didnt have enough time to do damage? Just pulled head through fence....

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

A hawk almost got one of my hens-it was in my yard, claws on feathers but I let the dogs out. A split second later and there would have been damage. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes the evidence would have been a couple feathers in the yard. We also had a raccoon attack and I interrupted it because I heard the hen screaming. She had minimal damage but the raccoon had been on top of her when I scared it off. Depending on how skittish your raccons are (ours are not-they will attack a small dog out for a walk in our neighborhood) you might have just missed it.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I only mention this because raccoons have been known to pull chickens through fences and decapitate them