Decapitated chicks inside cage?

[Chookwagn]

Hello, just yesterday i came home to a dead chick in its cage, it’s entire neck was exposed and it’s head tucked under the cage.
i went ahead and moved their cage and ensured there wasn’t space to crawl under, im not exactly sure where it’s body was as there is a few other chicks and mom and they scratch and move things.
Came home today, another dead chick, head hanging off, neck exposed and another chick has the back of head and neck area exposed and bleeding, i went ahead and took mom and her remaining kids and put them into another cage/coop.
??? are they getting their neck stuck? is mom pecking them dead?

i also had a hen with 3 chicks, two months old, unfortunately i do have to keep babies and moms in enclosed areas as there is cats and dogs nearby that are fiends for baby chicks.
i saw that she has started to be aggressive with them and desperate to leave her space so i decided to let her go back outside and and left the 3 on their own, they were doing good, 2 days ago or so i come home, 2 have blood and bald spots, 1 of them is entirely bald and swollen and bleeding also found a scab located above his crop earlier. disinfected with iodine and another solution .
i went ahead and separated them from the other two and have kept them separate since.

what is going on

(i’d also like to note that there is usually someone constantly watching them but there was a family emergency and had to leave for a few weeks, i attend school and work so it is difficult for me to be home before a certain time and be aware of what is going on)

Ferret / stoat / weasel

Would be my guess..... they like pulling heads

 

[fanynany]

need opinion on separating mom and chicks , not sure what is going on, i could go ahead and put mom and 4 babies inside but worried she might poke them, should i separate the injured babies and the mom and her two okay and safe babies and place them all inside?

 

[MountainWoman73]

Ferret / stoat / weasel

Would be my guess..... they like pulling heads

Those are solid guesses. Raccoon would be mine.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

need opinion on separating mom and chicks , not sure what is going on, i could go ahead and put mom and 4 babies inside but worried she might poke them, should i separate the injured babies and the mom and her two okay and safe babies and place them all inside?

How old are the chicks? They look nearly fully feathered except for their heads, so about 5 weeks? If so then I would go ahead and remove all 4 chicks to a safe and secure pen covered in 1/2 hardware cloth. Another option is to aim a camera at the pen and see if you can identify what's causing the injuries. I agree with @CloverTheRabbit that the culprit is likely a rat(s), unless you are certain that rats can't get access to the chicks.

 

[fanynany]

Unfortunately not home to see what it was, went ahead and moved injured ones inside, moving the other two that didn’t get hurt inside as well, gonna let mom go and keep babies inside

 

[fuzzi]

Unfortunately not home to see what it was, went ahead and moved injured ones inside, moving the other two that didn’t get hurt inside as well, gonna let mom go and keep babies inside

How are the chicks doing?

 

[Painted Calls]

How are the chicks doing?

X 2

The scalping looks like what I've seen hens do to chicks. My bet would have been on mom.

 

[lifein1840]

Hello, just yesterday i came home to a dead chick in its cage, it’s entire neck was exposed and it’s head tucked under the cage.
i went ahead and moved their cage and ensured there wasn’t space to crawl under, im not exactly sure where it’s body was as there is a few other chicks and mom and they scratch and move things.
Came home today, another dead chick, head hanging off, neck exposed and another chick has the back of head and neck area exposed and bleeding, i went ahead and took mom and her remaining kids and put them into another cage/coop.
??? are they getting their neck stuck? is mom pecking them dead?

i also had a hen with 3 chicks, two months old, unfortunately i do have to keep babies and moms in enclosed areas as there is cats and dogs nearby that are fiends for baby chicks.
i saw that she has started to be aggressive with them and desperate to leave her space so i decided to let her go back outside and and left the 3 on their own, they were doing good, 2 days ago or so i come home, 2 have blood and bald spots, 1 of them is entirely bald and swollen and bleeding also found a scab located above his crop earlier. disinfected with iodine and another solution .
i went ahead and separated them from the other two and have kept them separate since.

what is going on

(i’d also like to note that there is usually someone constantly watching them but there was a family emergency and had to leave for a few weeks, i attend school and work so it is difficult for me to be home before a certain time and be aware of what is going on)

have you seen any evidence of rats? that's what it sounds like to me

 

[tennisgal]

I have heavy duty fencing 2x3" around all sides and top of the coop and run. raccoons were able to reach in, pull the heads of my chicks who were sleeping along the fence and take their heads off. The same day I added two feet around the entire base of 1/2 inch wire that that nothing could reach in. No problem since.

 

[Debbi H]

The ones you said are missing heads or bodies are being taken by some kind of predator. After years of fighting rats, even though I keep feed in metal cans, I was tired of them tunneling in, so I completely enclosed my entire pen, including the floor, with 1/2" hardware cloth (wire). I'm talking about a 16' x 20' pen. But no more rats! For the floor, I dug out about 4" of dirt, laid the wire and secured it all around, then covered it with a 4" layer of rough sand (not beach sand, the stuff I used is called 1/4" minus at places you can order gravel).
Those other injuries definitely look to me like the mama hen's work, unfortunately. She's done being with the babies. Just remove her from them. Then, any that are injured are still going to be picked on by their siblings. The little jerks just cannot leave an injury alone on another chick. So an injured one will have to be separated, too.
Of course, they hate being alone, so if there is any way that you can separate them but still allow them to see each other until the wounds are healed, it would be best all around. I have covered wounds like that with regular triple antibiotic ointment from the drug store. Not only helps prevent infection, but the ointment keeps the skin soft instead of turning into a hard, uncomfortable helmet.