Had to happen sooner or later....

[brittking]

After having our 5 RIR for a year, we lost two of them today. I am so devastated because one of them was my favorite and I was the one that found them. When I finally found them today one was next to a shed. Completely intact...she was kind of under a door that was leaning against the shed so I thought maybe the door fell on her and killed her. Then when I found the second she was completely intact too except her neck was broken.

So my question is....what would kill them and then just leave them?! This happend during the day if that helps

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Welcome to BYC - I am so sorry it is under such sad circumstances, but still glad you have joined us.
When you found the birds were any of the feathers wet or matted as though they had been wet and dried? If so, what parts of the birds had been or were wet?

 

[WRanch]

Sorry for your loss. I know how you feel. Do you have dogs? I had 2 little dogs that dug under the run and coop and chased several of my girls to death. Then a few days later they did it again (they were escaping their yard and killing the hens for fun) and also mauled them a bit. Last night I came home from work to find the rest dead as well. That is a flock of 20 hens these 2 little monsters murdered just this week. Suffice it to say the dogs are no longer with me and I have to start completely over again...the worst part is that I was attached to my hens and my dogs. Now all are gone.

 

[michelleh2294]

so sorry for your loss, i had 2 of my 3 hens that were my beautiful girls i had for 3 yrs killed last month, we think a fox got in their coop, i found luna dead under a tree and dahlia was left dead on the floor of the coop....i cant even tell you how horrified and devastated i was...i still miss them so muc, i had no idea how attatched i was to those chickens, so we still have ruby and we have 3 new 12 wk old hens they are cute, but its just never the same...so im so sorry i know how you feel....i dont have dogs but thats terrible that you dont have them or the chickens anymore, thats a huge loss...take car....im trying to enjoy my new ones but in some ways it makes me miss my others so much more...take care, michelle

 

[Yardbird22]

From my experience. Dogs like to kill for fun, and will leave the chicken intact. Hawks normally leave the bird lay where they kill it and the pluck it and eat the breast and gizzard out. Foxs snatch and run you won't find the chicken just a few feathers. Coons by far are the worst. They are very smart. And they Normally bite the head to kill the chicken, and they like to eat the gizzard and nothing else. Unless they are baby ducks they seem to love them they eat the hole thing run off with it. Bald eagles swoop down and just pluke them from the ground. Which I have to say is a spectacular and horrifying sight all at once. I lost one of my best Copper Marans this spring to an eagle. The predators are thicker than seed tick around here. My LGD is my best weapon against them. I'm sorry for your loss, it's never easy losing a bird. Watch out for stray dogs as well they are even worse then raccoons.

 

[accord]

You can be absolutely sure that it was not a fox. My husband saw one of my girls get carried off into the woods this morning. He had just opened the coop and she managed to get out of the run somehow and it happened within seconds!! Needless to say I had been upset all day over it

 

[accord]

It was*