Feather identification

[Cheems]

Hello, so unfortunately I had a bird attack my chickens and I lost my favorite beloved silky nearby I realized there was a huge pile of feathers that did not look like they were from any of my birds. I am wondering what attacked them and how I can prevent this from happening again. My rooster must have attacked the bird and that would explain the feathers. I cannot thank my rooster enough who tried his best and protected the rest of the flock, the poor boy I didnt see any feathers missing from him or any of his girls

Right now im suspecting a hawk as I have seen one nearby but perhaps knowing what type of hawk it is would help me keep it away, I live in southern/mid california if that helps

 

[nuthatched]

Those are your roosters or another's chickens feathers. Sorry for your loss.

 

[silki girl]

I am so sorry for you loss! one of my favorite breeds of chicken are silky's! ( which explains my profile name).

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

My first thought was also that the feathers on the ground belong to your rooster. There aren't enough feathers there that you would notice him missing any. I thought they were your rooster's feathers because in the photo he appears to have a white undercoat, and also you later said he was standing guard alone. The one black and red feather appears to match his tail or wing feather colors. Those definitely look like chicken feathers to me, so carefully check over your rooster and all hens with red outer feathers and white undercoats. Feathers easily hide and cover wounds, and could become infected before you notice a problem.

 

[aart]

but perhaps knowing what type of hawk it is would help me keep it away

It won't help.
Best bet is to keep the chickens in a secure run.

 

[silki girl]

those feathers might belong to another one of this predators prey.

 

[Cheems]

this is a big mystery

indeed, ive been piecing together what has happened, I know my rooster was apart of it because when I went out there he was standing guard, alone

 

[silki girl]

do you have any other chickens with that feather color?

 

[nuthatched]

are you sure? I dont notice any missing from my chickens and they dont quite match my rooster, im not sure if the camera shows that though

it might be but I just dont see anything missing and theres a lot of feathers on the ground

(in the picture it makes it kinda look like hes missing a few feathers but that spot has been there for a while and not nearly enough feathers are missing)

You're not likely going to notice feathers missing on your birds.
The raptor went after one of your other birds, decided the silkie, because silkies are *defenseless* and was the easier target and took her.

 

[Cheems]

do you have any other chickens with that feather color?

yes but I checked them and they dont have any damage at all, they are the same color as my rooster

You're not likely going to notice feathers missing on your birds.
The raptor went after one of your other birds, decided the silkie, because silkies are *defenseless* and was the easier target and took her.

yeah unfortunately I do believe this is the case, but the feathers also just dont seem to match when I lift them up to compare them, idk maybe im looking too far into it, I want to make sure that my rooster isnt hurt because if he is I want to make sure he doesnt get an infection