Chicken found dead with a single puncture to the chest.

[toredano]

sounds like she poked herself somehow in the chest while dustbathing maybe? maybe got startled and took off running into something..Or someone shot her..BUT... even a .22 usually should go thru and does some inside damage. Either way.. sorry you lost her

 

[ReBobby]

SO, this is dragging a very old post back out, but I just had the same problem.
They were all in a barn stall and were checked on ~2 hours ago. I just checked them again because they were talking a little loud, which isn't that abnormal for them but I am paranoid. One chick was dead in the middle of the stall. The other chicks are acting like it was a predator attack or something that definitely spooked them, but the hen that was with them seems undisturbed.

The chick is completely untouched except there is one very small puncture under the right wing, on the body. There was a lot of blood, only on the body under the wing, but we couldn't see where it was coming from until we washed the blood off and only found the puncture because it was still slowly leaking, like when you prick a finger. So this isn't a gouge, it is a puncture, like with a needle. There is no other mark, no scratches/bites, no feathers missing, nothing. I checked the whole area for a nail of sharp wire or something, but there is nothing she could have punctured herself on. And even if she had, I don't think her just slowly bleeding would have spooked the other chicks like this. This injury could not have killed anything, except it bled so much or punctured just the wrong place? But there are no other visible injuries, we've looked all over.
We have some rats in the barn, but they have never been a problem and I don't see how they could have done such a clean puncture and there are no nibble marks or displaced feathers. Maybe chicken hawk? We have some bold little guys around here, but it was in the barn and in a stall, a small area. And I was outside where I could see most of the barn and even stall door, and didn't see anything.
They have been in this stall every night and every bad weather day for about a month now, with the adult hen and a blind, crippled rooster. We haven't had any problems. We are a ways away from all neighbors, and she was indoors, so not shot. The other chicks looked like they were afraid of the ground and really wanted out of the stall. I saw nothing run when I entered the barn.
We need to keep these other guys safe, not to mention the poor blind rooster. We have kept chickens for a good number of years and are familiar with most predator MOs, but I got nothing with this. Anybody have any ideas? Thanks!

 

[Eggcessive]

SO, this is dragging a very old post back out, but I just had the same problem.
They were all in a barn stall and were checked on ~2 hours ago. I just checked them again because they were talking a little loud, which isn't that abnormal for them but I am paranoid. One chick was dead in the middle of the stall. The other chicks are acting like it was a predator attack or something that definitely spooked them, but the hen that was with them seems undisturbed.

The chick is completely untouched except there is one very small puncture under the right wing, on the body. There was a lot of blood, only on the body under the wing, but we couldn't see where it was coming from until we washed the blood off and only found the puncture because it was still slowly leaking, like when you prick a finger. So this isn't a gouge, it is a puncture, like with a needle. There is no other mark, no scratches/bites, no feathers missing, nothing. I checked the whole area for a nail of sharp wire or something, but there is nothing she could have punctured herself on. And even if she had, I don't think her just slowly bleeding would have spooked the other chicks like this. This injury could not have killed anything, except it bled so much or punctured just the wrong place? But there are no other visible injuries, we've looked all over.
We have some rats in the barn, but they have never been a problem and I don't see how they could have done such a clean puncture and there are no nibble marks or displaced feathers. Maybe chicken hawk? We have some bold little guys around here, but it was in the barn and in a stall, a small area. And I was outside where I could see most of the barn and even stall door, and didn't see anything.
They have been in this stall every night and every bad weather day for about a month now, with the adult hen and a blind, crippled rooster. We haven't had any problems. We are a ways away from all neighbors, and she was indoors, so not shot. The other chicks looked like they were afraid of the ground and really wanted out of the stall. I saw nothing run when I entered the barn.
We need to keep these other guys safe, not to mention the poor blind rooster. We have kept chickens for a good number of years and are familiar with most predator MOs, but I got nothing with this. Anybody have any ideas? Thanks!

Sorry for your loss. Can you look for any marks on the opposite side where a cat might have punctured the side with a fang? I would start a new thread of your own so that more would see it and answer you. This thread is 4 years old and many won’t look at it.