Dead Banty. Abd cavity eaten. What did it?

[DaniLovesChickens]

i went out to get eggs this morning and found my little Ali dead in the hen house. She was in the area where she sleeps at.

She was laying on her side. Her one wing is gone (I think) and something(s) ate into her abdominal cavity and ate everything there.

I know that chickens will peck other dead chickens (have unfortunately seen this) but i have never seen anything like this. Could they have done this to her?

Did another animal get in there and do it? I know that there are mice that get in there and possibly voles. I'm not sure about other animals.

Please help!

I didn't look too closely at her body. I will have my husband do it when he gets home.


Thank you!

 

[Lollipop]

You are certainly correct that chickens could have eaten her to death, but possums are known to eat the abdominal area first. Check the security of your pen. After a big meal, most predators will lay out for a day or two and sleep it off, but they always return, if nothing prevents it. Set your trap. You do have a trap, don`t you? EVERYONE that keeps chickens MUST have a trap AND a gun. Bait the trap with the hens carcuss and put the trap close to the pen, like right next to it. Shoot the predator in the trap and don`t even think of relocating it, as it`s illegal most everywhere and it`s just dumping your problems on somebody else. Good luck..........Pop

 

[geebs]

Good luck...

 

[DaniLovesChickens]

My husband said that only her organs were eaten. None of the meat. Her legs are still intact too.

There are no obvious signs of something killing her. She had her head tucked in like she was sleeping. I wonder if she didn't just maybe die in her sleep and that what happened to her body happened after!

It rained kinda hard this morning so even if there had been tracks, they're gone now.

 

[EweSheep]

Had that happened twice, it is a possum or a feral cat.