dealing with chicken deaths

[ria patel]

Today around 7:30 I came outside and realized that Moosie, my favorite partridge cochin wad eaten by a hawk. None of her body parts were left besides her blood. It seems like a hawk got into the coop since there was blood on the door and on the grass. I feel as if her death is my fault since I accidentally left the coop door open, but I do not know how to cope with the loss. It feels weird having only four chickens, so I am contemplating buying two more six week old chicks. Any advice on dealing with the loss and whether or not I should add two new chicks to the flock? This is my first chicken death and I feel like I have failed as a pet owner.

 

[ValerieJ]

I'm so sorry this happened! We have all had to deal with this in one way or another and it's not easy. The hawk could have gotten her during the day as easily as at night. Chickens are prey to many animals and birds. It's horrible when it happens.

Getting new chicks is a great idea, but be sure to keep them quarantined away from your flock for 30 days to be sure they are not bringing in any diseases. Then keep them in a see, don't touch area near your chickens to get acquainted safely for a week or two before integrating them.

And welcome to BYC!

 

[FortCluck]

Loss is very hard especially when you're attached to them. Usually I grieve for a couple days after a loss. Spending time with the other chickens always helps cheer me up.

I'd get more chicks if I were in your position. Just make sure you do the see but not touch method until the chicks are old enough to be out with the older chickens. I usually put them in a cage in the run that I built, but there are several ways you can do this method. It's makes integration so much easier.

I'm very sorry for your loss

 

[FortCluck]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...using-the-“see-but-don’t-touch”-method.67839/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Today around 7:30 I came outside and realized that Moosie, my favorite partridge cochin wad eaten by a hawk. None of her body parts were left besides her blood. It seems like a hawk got into the coop since there was blood on the door and on the grass. I feel as if her death is my fault since I accidentally left the coop door open, but I do not know how to cope with the loss. It feels weird having only four chickens, so I am contemplating buying two more six week old chicks. Any advice on dealing with the loss and whether or not I should add two new chicks to the flock? This is my first chicken death and I feel like I have failed as a pet owner.

I'm sorry for your loss
Loss is part of life and unfortunately chicken keeping. Take a little time to morn the loss of your chick, but you have other chicks that need your attention and care - focus on them and think about ways that you may need to improve your coop/run security.

Do you have photos of your coop/run that you wish to share? We may be able to give your some tips to make it more secure against predators. There are many predators that are interested in chickens - Hawks, Raccoons, Fox, Weasel, etc. Whatever got in will come back, so keep a look out for that.

If you do decide to get a few more chicks to replace the one you lost, then as suggested, quarantining them is a good idea. Keep the newbies away from your other chicks and observe them for any signs of disease and parasites for at least 2 weeks. A quarantine doesn't always guarantee that the newbies or your existing chicks might get sick, but the observation period does give you a chance to catch some signs of illness.

Once the quarantine is over, slowly introduce them to one another using a see-but-don't touch method for several days, hopefully all will go smoothly for you.

 

[HAPPYCHICKENLADY17]

back in the early spring i lost a 4 week old silkie and a crested polish, i thought the wire on the coop door was suffiecient and a raccoon got his paw in there and pulled the two little chicks right through the wire....i cried and cried and that was my fault, but now there is smaller wire on that door and we do learn a bit more every day, so sorry for your loss, i know how heartbreaking it can be

 

[Gooseopolis]

Today around 7:30 I came outside and realized that Moosie, my favorite partridge cochin wad eaten by a hawk. None of her body parts were left besides her blood. It seems like a hawk got into the coop since there was blood on the door and on the grass. I feel as if her death is my fault since I accidentally left the coop door open, but I do not know how to cope with the loss. It feels weird having only four chickens, so I am contemplating buying two more six week old chicks. Any advice on dealing with the loss and whether or not I should add two new chicks to the flock? This is my first chicken death and I feel like I have failed as a pet owner.

Really sorry to hear about your baby. I HATE hawks. They are the only predator in our area and I have lost three chickens over the last few years to hawks. I am very attached to my animals as all of them were raised from babies and they are so dear to me. When I had a smaller flock we had them in a nice hen house and my husband made a moveable pen attached to it. It was temporary shelter as we were getting more birds so he was building a permanent structure. We had the top of the pen covered with 2 pieces of poultry netting. There was a small area where the netting didn’t cover but surely no hawk in its right mind would fly in such a tiny space. I had 8 week old babies in the pen and when I went in the house, a hawk DID fly in and killed my baby Jersey giant. She was laying dead with her neck broken. I was grief stricken. She was my favorite baby. The hawk had waited till I left the yard. You can believe our new chicken coop and run has every space covered in netting, same with my duck house. Our Geese are now old enough to sound the Goose alarm when a predator is near, the chickens and ducks run for cover. It doesn’t mean they will always be safe. If I hear a hawk I always go out and check my babies. I lost another bird who was just out free ranging on a nice day. The hawk swooped in and killed her, but she managed to run a few steps under our toy hauler. Feathers and blood were all over and I broke down and felt it was my fault. I know how hard it is and it is NOT your fault. I would most definitely get some babies and when they are old/big enough, introduce them to the others. We have a big plastic owl that my hubs moved around the fence tops. Hawks do not like owls. Again I am sorry about your loss and welcome to Backyard chickens.

 

[ria patel]

Now we are so confused since we believed it was a hawk since an hour after the tragic loss a hawk was flying around my backyard. Now, we believe it was a fox since there was once a fox in the wooded area that is not even a foot away from where the coop is. Fox are able to jump over the chicken run and open the lock, so there is a possibility it was a fox. We have no exact way to tell since we have no cameras, but there was blood dripping on the door, specs of blood inside the coop, feathers inside the coop, and a leaf covered in blood on the outside run. What's unfortunate is that we ordered a predator sensor off of Amazon that was supposed to come Friday, and Amazon failed me and the package is running late. It's so unfortunate that these things happen, I wish there was a way to prevent it.

 

[Sequel]

I’m sorry for your loss! I know how horrible it is to lose chickens. The best way to prevent more losses is to have a secure coop and run. Can you take some pictures of your set up and post them here? There are many people here with fabulous ideas on predator proofing. I would definitely make sure your security is good before adding any more chickens. Predators are very determined and they will be back!
Good luck and again I’m so sorry!

 

[ValerieJ]

I'm just so sad. . Wish I had words of wisdom, but I don't. someone will come on with coop and run advice, and I will be listening too.