I am more new to this BYC thing, I've had Jackson, my RIR for almost two years, and I've had Butters, my Buff Orphington for about 10 months. Today, I had let them out in the garden and thought nothing of it. I always check on them every half hour or so since we have falcons in the area (I've seen one resting on top of our coop!). They were fighting over something, chasing each other and grabbing something out of each others mouths. I got up close and realized it was a half of a DEAD BIRD. I have NO idea where or how they found this thing, but it was DISGUSTING!! butters freaked out when i ran up and was trying to chase her down, so she swallowed the thing whole, even the little LEG! she was actually choking on the little leg, but finally barfed it out and re-ate it! then Jackson had found another chunk with another leg somewhere else in the garden. Jackson tends to just lay down when she knows she is caught and luckily, i had a hand shovel near by and got some of it out of her mouth. I have not had ANY issues with these girls eating each other, or their eggs for that matter... is this normal? has anyone ever seen their chickens do something this disgusting? I am also worried about how those feathers and the leg are going to digest in their tummies. And the eggs? are they safe to eat? is there a possibility a disease could be caught if that was the reason this little bird died????
