*Graphic Pics* Does Anyone Know What Could Have Caused This?

[brandyb]

This was one of my Partridge Rock Hens. She was missing a few feathers on her back from the other hens pecking her. We built them a bigger coop and the pecking stopped and they were growing their feathers back. Today I noticed she was looking really thin and then I saw a bloody spot on her side under her wing, so my husband and I decided we needed to put her down. So we did

. After putting her down, I was inspecting her and I noticed she had another spot under her, below her breast. Does anyone know what could have caused this? I thought the other hens were maybe pecking her again but when i saw the spot under her, I decided I didn't have a clue, because the others can't peck her there. I checked for mites and her skin was very clean. I didn't see anything crawling on her at all!! Any Ideas????
This 1st pic is of the spot that was on her side under her wing.

This pic is of the spot that was on her underside below her breast.

 

[Terri O]

Looks to me like something grabbed her. Dog? Maybe something else that can get into your coop? If they free range it could have been a hawk that missed. ANyone's guess...Terri O

 

[karen71]

I though hawk at first cause that's what my Angels wounds looked like after a hawk attack - from reading the post I,m not sure the op free ranges
I suppose we would need more info to make a better guess- could it have been the other girls ?

eta
sorry about the loss of your girl it is terrible to have to put done one of your pets

 

[brandyb]

They don't free range and there coop is really secure! The run is covered with fence and there aren't any holes in the fencing. And there aren't any signs of where something has dug in the coop. This may be one of those situations where nobody knows the answer.

I thought the other girls too, but the spot under her really made me think it wasn't the other girls. I just couldn't see how they would be able to get under and peck her.

Thank ya'll.

 

[sourland]

The spot on her side under her wing is positioned where I have seen damage done by a rooster's toenails or spurs while breeding a hen. That doesn't explain the gash in under her breast though. Check the rooster's spurs and toenails. If they are especially long or sharp, it might be a good idea to clip them. Check your other hens to make sure that none of them have been injured. Good luck solving this problem.

 

[brandyb]

Thank you, I haven't thought about the rooster doing it. I could see where that could happen though. I know his spurs aren't long enough yet, i just looked at them to see if I could clip them because he doesn't like me and jumps on me all the time (but that's a whole other situation) but his toenails definitely could've done it. Thank you so much. It makes me feel a little better even though I have no clue about the other one under her.

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

Are you sure that a rat can't get into where she was? Kinda looks like rat bites to me.

 

[brandyb]

Quote:
I know we have field mice outside, that is just something that comes with living in the country in south MS. Would a small little mouse do that? Or are you talking about big rats?

 

[JP33]

Quote:
I know we have field mice outside, that is just something that comes with living in the country in south MS. Would a small little mouse do that? Or are you talking about big rats?

A rat can get through 1/2" hardware cloth but not 1/4"


...JP