Chickens killing birds?!

[Cara]

Last week I thought I was seeing things when my chickens hunted down a hummingbird, killed it and ate it. Today they got a sparrow. Is this normal?!

 

[TsBurks]

Are you sure? I don't think they will eat other birds. Maybe something else is killing it.

MAYBE THERE ARE HUNGRY!

Well I was gonna catch a small baby bird that I saw on the ground… It hadn’t got flight down as of yet bc I walked up to it but once it ran the chickens saw it & one of my leghorns grabbed that baby bird & slammed it on the ground & before I could catch up with her she slammed it again on the porch… 2 of my chickens pulled that baby apart and ate it it.. Looked like a sparrow but it was so tiny, it must have fallen out of the tree.
The sight of the way she killed that bird broke my heart.. I don’t feel the same way about my 3 month old chickens, I’ve been so protective of them but they are evil…
I’m so sad for the mama bird - she was sitting in the tree watching all this horror, too!
She kept flying down to the baby but couldn’t help it so I decided to put it in a cat carrier until it could get back in the tree, or fly better. I was too slow…

But YES, the chickens Will and DID eat a baby bird…

 

[Chuckie chicken]

Heck, I've only had chickens for a couple of months and I've seen them kill a snake, a large toad, and just found one eating a young bird on the weekend. They really are tiny raptors, lol.

 

[Krazy]

Are you sure? I don't think they will eat other birds. Maybe something else is killing it.

MAYBE THERE ARE HUNGRY!

 

[Poison Ivy]

wow that's different! I have a dove that gets in the run sometimes to get at the food but then can't find it's way back out. So far my birds never even look at and have never chased it. The dove is so use to me coming to the rescue that it sits still when I go to pick it up. Then it sits on my hand for awhile before it flies off. I hope my girls never kill it I would be heartbroken. It's been around my house for about 3 years now. It had a mate but I've not seen it for a couple months now.

 

[Cara]

LOL my killer chickens have had a couple of mice too! I found them freshly dead in the coop, and assumed they had died, but I guess the chickens were to blame for that too. I thought they were going to choke on the hummingbird.

 

[nuchickmama]

One of my 4 month old pullets got a hold of a small bird that was eating some of their scattered feed and killed it and then ran away like a keep away game. I ran after her and took it from her with great difficulty. So, yes, they do kill other birds. My husband keeps saying how many video moments he has missed.

 

[Cara]

I couldn't be more sure, I watched them do it. They shook it like a terrier will with a rat, and I took the sparrow off them to see what it was. They did the keep away thing too, like with a worm, and shredded the hummingbird between them.

They have plenty of food! Free choice, plus a coop that's probably 150 sq ft.

 

[nuchickmama]

Same here. More than enough food, lots of space !! I saw her do it with my own eyes and it grossed me out! That's why I took it from her!

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Wow, scary. i have seen my hen chase mourning doves that flew into our yard, but assumed she was just protecting her territory. i hope i never see her eat one!