Do hawks/eagles leave chicken behind?

[latchickimer]

So sad. Went out around 7:00 pm tonight and one of my chickens was splayed out dead on her back.

We just built a new run area, fenced in but not yet covered, and I'm wondering if it's possible that she was killed by a flying predator but wasn't taken? I'm having trouble finding out if this is common. We're in Oregon and it was very hot today, high 90's, but she was right by the waterer, so I'm not sure if that could be part of a natural death? My husband checked the chicken out pretty thoroughly and didn't find anything.

This is one of 2 chicks I introduced a few months ago, so sad that the other one doesn't have a buddy now! We have 3 older hens, but the remaining little has a cross beak so is likely to keep being excluded as she has been. So frustrating after all the work of introducing new chickens!

 

[mrs buff laced]

Well normally chicken attacks from flying predators leave the chickens with broken or cut necks, sometimes part of the abdomen missing. So if it was a attack it was most likely something else unless you did find cuts or wounds on the victim especially around the neck area. Now this is something that we did ourselves... It was a hot day in June, we just got done filling the water for the chickens. We then gave them RAW carrots and potatoes among other things... BAD CHOICE! We did not know that raw potatoes and carrots were bad for chickens. The next day we found one of them dead on it's back, the oddest position we had ever seen of a dead chicken. That is the only time I have ever seen I chicken dead on it's back WITHOUT any cuts or wounds.

Hope this helps!

 

[latchickimer]

I think you're right... the more I read, the more I'm thinking there is no way it was a predator, considering there were no feathers, wounds, etc. So weird for them to just drop dead, but I know it can happen!

 

[mrs buff laced]

Well it happened a few times were our chickens just disappear in the night with no trace! Like there were no feathers no blood no nothing left behind just GONE! It sometimes gets frustrating but it doesn't happen that often. Hope it doesn't happen again to y'all's chickens!