Chicken carcass found with smelly crop-Need Feedback

[ChristyBloom]

I need some thoughts on a disturbing discovery today. I’ve had a sick chicken and haven’t been able to isolate the problem. She was slowly loosing weight and spit up water a couple days ago. So I emptied her crop and it was smelly. I began treating her with vinegar and olive oil. Today I found her body picked clean and the only thing not eaten was the crop with a big ball of stinky black gunk in it! Ug! We have ad hawks eyeing my chickens from time to time. Was it a hawk that ate my chicken inside the fenced chicken yard? OR did my other chickens eat her? Ive never seen them act aggressively towards each other. In fact.. this morning, she was warning my rooster to leave her alone. Did she have sour crop or an impacted crop? Ive never had a chicken eaten and I’ve never had crop issues so I’d really appreciate some feedback. Thanks so much.

 

[Fallenone05]

She probably had both an impacted and sour crop - that looks icky. She might have died from her illness and then the other chickens have eaten her - it's gross but it happens. I'm sorry about your loss. :c

 

[ChristyBloom]

She probably had both an impacted and sour crop - that looks icky. She might have died from her illness and then the other chickens have eaten her - it's gross but it happens. I'm sorry about your loss. :c

Thanks for your input. I was totally shocked… but I wanted to learn from the issue. Much appreciated.

 

[Stephanie8806]

I would agree, I think it’s likely that it got impacted AND went sour. It could have been the hawk for sure. I lost one to a hawk about two weeks ago, very similar. Head, wings, and feet relatively untouched, picked basically clean everywhere else(meat, organs minus the gizzard, and neck).

I’d check hawk migration patterns/dates in your area. I limit or supervise free ranging during peak migration seasons.

 

[ChristyBloom]

Thanks so much for your replies. It helps me sort things out.