- Jun 28, 2009
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Hi all--new to this forum and I really enjoy it. Unfortunately, now I have something to post.
Our chickens are in a small pen that is 5' tall wire and wood, but open on top. They have a coop. They were sleeping okay each night in their coop, with the small door open. No problems. We went away for one night and came back to find a chicken dead. Most of head/body left behind, but breast totally ripped out.
Here's where it gets weird. We had a massive hailstorm that night that killed a friend's free range chickens. But at the time of our storm, my girls would've been in their coop, so that makes no sense. And only one of three hens was killed. And if she was killed by hail, how did she get eaten?
I am a wildlife biologist (we live in Northern Colorado) and I am unsure what happened. No sign of entry like digging. Yes, we have all kinds of raptors here, and I personally watched a sharp-shinned hawk kill and eat a dove this spring, but he flew off with the almost meatleass carcass after feeding. Could one of these birds have killed and eaten the chicken and it was too heavy to fly off with?
I am most worried because I don't know if the chicken was attacked outside, which means in daylight. If I am gone for the day, are the chickens at risk?
If the hen was pulled out of the coop, I solved that problem by closing them up for the night.
I know of owls entering bird roosts (like kestrels) and literally pulling the bird out and eating it. I actually found a few of these dead birds doing research. But the things I've read about owls killing chickens (so far) indicate the head would be missing and they wouldn't have eaten much.
More info--the pen/coop is right beside our house/garage. I thought it would take a brazen predator to come all the way up to this point to get a chciken behind a fence and in a coop, but I may be wrong.
Finally, these animals have all been seen on our property at one time or another: fox, raccoon, black bear, skunk, cats, and the occasional stray dog. Coyotes run wild nearby, but have never been seen in our subdivision (vs. bears, which we do get right next to the house eating bird seed.)
Any thoughts? THANKS!
Our chickens are in a small pen that is 5' tall wire and wood, but open on top. They have a coop. They were sleeping okay each night in their coop, with the small door open. No problems. We went away for one night and came back to find a chicken dead. Most of head/body left behind, but breast totally ripped out.
Here's where it gets weird. We had a massive hailstorm that night that killed a friend's free range chickens. But at the time of our storm, my girls would've been in their coop, so that makes no sense. And only one of three hens was killed. And if she was killed by hail, how did she get eaten?
I am a wildlife biologist (we live in Northern Colorado) and I am unsure what happened. No sign of entry like digging. Yes, we have all kinds of raptors here, and I personally watched a sharp-shinned hawk kill and eat a dove this spring, but he flew off with the almost meatleass carcass after feeding. Could one of these birds have killed and eaten the chicken and it was too heavy to fly off with?
I am most worried because I don't know if the chicken was attacked outside, which means in daylight. If I am gone for the day, are the chickens at risk?
If the hen was pulled out of the coop, I solved that problem by closing them up for the night.
I know of owls entering bird roosts (like kestrels) and literally pulling the bird out and eating it. I actually found a few of these dead birds doing research. But the things I've read about owls killing chickens (so far) indicate the head would be missing and they wouldn't have eaten much.
More info--the pen/coop is right beside our house/garage. I thought it would take a brazen predator to come all the way up to this point to get a chciken behind a fence and in a coop, but I may be wrong.
Finally, these animals have all been seen on our property at one time or another: fox, raccoon, black bear, skunk, cats, and the occasional stray dog. Coyotes run wild nearby, but have never been seen in our subdivision (vs. bears, which we do get right next to the house eating bird seed.)
Any thoughts? THANKS!
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