Grisly Halloween Mystery

[petspoiler]

Looks secure! Can anything slip under that gate?

There's a stone lip, and the hardware cloth at the bottom of the gate overlaps it. There's also very little space between the stone and the frame of the door itself. I'm sure something small enough could get in, but it would also have to be very strong to peel back that hardware cloth. I've never caught anything in the enclosure, but it's possible.
I'm leaning toward the Freddy Krueger scenario, perhaps with a small rat. One of them could have caught it, carried it to the roosting spot, got in a tug-o-war with the others, and ripped it in half. I guess I'd just feel better to hear someone say, "Oh yeah. I've watched mine do that before." But could've been a prankster with no effin life, too, I suppose, someone they liked, maybe, who was very tidy and fastidious, and didn't creep them out by pouring blood under their feet... who knows? LOL

 

[petspoiler]

I vote for a broken blood feather. My cockatiel used to get night frights, and thrashing around she would break blood feathers a lot. It seriously looked like a crime scene every time. Check their wings.

I thought about that. Years and years ago I had a Blue-Crowned Conure and that happened with him. But again, I checked them over and none of them were bloody. Do chickens clean themselves?

 

[micstrachan]

So no comb injuries whatsoever, right?

 

[petspoiler]

I think the mystery's been solved. I took a good hard look and found a dismembered rat leg tangled in the chicken wire that lines the roof of the enclosure, right above the roof of the hen house...
1) Poor stupid rat.
2) EWWWWWWW!!
So, it's official. I have horror hens!
I'd better add some more grit to their feed... it's gonna take a lot of roughage to move *that* on through... lol

 

[townchicks]

Yuck. Nice to know that it wasn't something more sinister. Funny coincidence of timing though.

 

[micstrachan]

Wow! Gross, but go, girls!!!

 

[Chick-N-Daddy]

So this was the morning after Halloween? Is your coop secure from humans?
It sounds to me like you had some juvenile prank played on you. Others have recently posted about hearing chanting in the forest near them and feared that their chickens would be stolen for some sort of sacrifice. I guess a juvenile prank would be better than your chickens being taken for some sickos sacrifice on Halloween.

sigh - It is more likely that some other animal ate their dinner on the roof overnight, making the mess.
I really have to wonder at the mental health of people whose initial thought at anything new or unfamiliar is to shout 'animal sacrifice and devil worship.' The only reason to even mention that sort of thing is to scare people into hating something. Just quit with spreading and promoting that kind of garbage already. Just because you don't understand something does not mean it is evil, nefarious, or directed at anyone.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

When my neighbors accused my cat of beheading their chickens, that's exactly where I went. Poor cat couldn't even open her own kibble and was kept inside at night and we had raccoons everywhere. Thought that deserved the alternative religious practices explanation. Also they never cleaned the coop making my screened porch unusable and making me a duck person for life.

 

[petspoiler]

sigh - It is more likely that some other animal ate their dinner on the roof overnight, making the mess.

I'd be inclined to think that. Except that my roof is layered. I used a roof kit from Tractor Supply(thank GOD for that place!) When I put the kit on, first I attached the frame for the roof, then I stretched the chicken wire over the frame, and then I stretched the tarp over the chicken wire. The method served multiple purposes. First, I was able to dry in the enclosure while still maintaining the enclosure's security. Second, it prevented leaves from collecting on the chicken wire, as well as keeping the chicken wire dry so it won't rust. There are no holes in the tarp, so in order for something to eat dinner on the roof and make such a mess below, it would have to literally squeeze between the tarp and the wire, or get inside the kennel. Both scenarios are extremely unlikely, especially since the birds seemed totally content and trauma-free the next day.
I have, however, seen my birds go after a variety of wild critters, some of which I'd totally expect them to avoid. There are seven of them, though. So safety in numbers, I guess...
I wholeheartedly agree on your stance on pranksters and satanists. I'd really rather not go through life thinking the world's full of people looking to mess with me for no good reason. Mainly because it runs completely counter to my experience here in North Alabama, and also because stress kills and that just seems like no way to live.

 

[Aunt Angus]

And there are weirdos who will make animal sacrifices for some reason or another. I'd like to say I didn't know from personal experience, but having once found a mound of bird heads in a pentagram in a community baseball dugout....