HELP! An animal attacked my hen! WARNING GRAPHIC PICTURES

[chickentenderbunny]

Poor girl. If she were mine, I’d give her a chance if it did not appear there were torn organs. Hard to tell in the photo. Has she pooped yet? Is this a laying hen?

I don’t think her organs are torn and yes she did poop! Do you mind me asking what does laying hen mean? Regularly harvesting eggs??

Forgot to also say, this predator will be back. I don’t think it was a cat. If it were, I think it would be at least bobcat sized and there would be puncture wounds. I could be wrong.

Does your mom seriously think a mouse did that? I seriously doubt that. Not possible in my opinion. Would guess dog or hawk.

Can you keep your flock in a covered run for awhile instead of free ranging?

My neighbors have stray cats staying in their yard and I’ve seen them kill birds but it looks like the only decapitate the heads. Which is why I don’t think it’s a cat.

We’ve seen a rat around the coop a few times but I honestly don’t think it could have done this. I would have quickly found her and if not, my rooster would have. He did pretty well protecting our flock when a dog got into our yard last time so I’m sure he would have done the same if something happened in our yard again.

Also all the feathers she lost aren’t in our backyard. Which makes me believe that the attack happened in a neighbor’s yard who has a dog.

 

[slordaz]

I don’t think her organs are torn and yes she did poop! Do you mind me asking what does laying hen mean? Regularly harvesting eggs??

My neighbors have stray cats staying in their yard and I’ve seen them kill birds but it looks like the only decapitate the heads. Which is why I don’t think it’s a cat.

We’ve seen a rat around the coop a few times but I honestly don’t think it could have done this. I would have quickly found her and if not, my rooster would have. He did pretty well protecting our flock when a dog got into our yard last time so I’m sure he would have done the same if something happened in our yard again.

Also all the feathers she lost aren’t in our backyard. Which makes me believe that the attack happened in a neighbor’s yard who has a dog.

depends, if they are hunting in a pack, not something they have been known to , but I have witnessed it myself they get hungry enough they will take down a full grown chicken, and while they are learning to hunt like that the kills are different as they hone their skill to not get caught

the dog won't bring your chicken back to your yard after killing it,so seriously doubt it was the neighbors dog

Rat is a possibility too plus spread disease so you would want to get rid of that

Camera, traps, and covering your run will help so it doesn't continue

 

[micstrachan]

A laying hen is a hen who lays eggs. How much time passed between when you last saw her and when she went missing?

 

[chickentenderbunny]

depends, if they are hunting in a pack, not something they have been known to , but I have witnessed it myself they get hungry enough they will take down a full grown chicken, and while they are learning to hunt like that the kills are different as they hone their skill to not get caught

the dog won't bring your chicken back to your yard after killing it,so seriously doubt it was the neighbors dog

Rat is a possibility too plus spread disease so you would want to get rid of that

Camera, traps, and covering your run will help so it doesn't continue

Oh that’s really interesting! I had no idea. I guess a cat may be a possibility after all. And we’re working on getting rid of the rat. I think it’s just a matter of waiting for it to eat the poison.

A laying hen is a hen who lays eggs. How much time passed between when you last saw her and when she went missing?

Ohh thank you. Yes, she lays eggs. The time I last saw her to the time I realized that she was missing was less than 30 minutes. About an hour after I found out she was missing is when my mom found her.

 

[micstrachan]

I don’t think a rat could do that much damage in that amount of time. However, I’m open to being proved wrong.

So you’re thinking she wandered into your neighbor’s yard and was attacked there?

What predators are there where you live?

And more importantly, how is she doing?

 

[slordaz]

Oh that’s really interesting! I had no idea. I guess a cat may be a possibility after all. And we’re working on getting rid of the rat. I think it’s just a matter of waiting for it to eat the poison.


Ohh thank you. Yes, she lays eggs. The time I last saw her to the time I realized that she was missing was less than 30 minutes. About an hour after I found out she was missing is when my mom found her.

be very careful using poison that your chickens can't get into it

 

[micstrachan]

be very careful using poison that your chickens can't get into it

x2 including finding and eating the dead rat. You might reconsider the poison. Just a thought.

 

[chickentenderbunny]

I don’t think a rat could do that much damage in that amount of time. However, I’m open to being proved wrong.
So you’re thinking she wandered into your neighbor’s yard and was attacked there?
What predators are there where you live?
And more importantly, how is she doing?

Yes, that’s the only thing I can come up with. When I heard the chicken cry, the direction of the sound was coming from the neighbor behind us who has the dog.

My house is surrounded with a fence and if my chickens escape, they usually wander to the neighbors next to us, not behind. I also recently clipped her wings. So to be honest, it’s hard to imagine that she wandered back there too.

I live in Hawaii and it’s just a small residential area. We don’t have anything dangerous like foxes or coyotes. As for birds, there’s only pigeons. So my main concerns for my babies are cats, dogs, or getting hit by a car. :/

Her condition appears to be the same. Still eating and drinking and occasional resting.

be very careful using poison that your chickens can't get into it

x2 including finding and eating the dead rat. You might reconsider the poison. Just a thought.

Apparently the poison that my parents are using is Chinese? They told me chickens aren’t able to eat it but rats can. How it works is that it makes the rat feel thirsty so they drink water and then they die? Not really well versed about it but they said they used it before and my chickens didn’t experience any issues with it so I think it’s okay?

 

[chickentenderbunny]

she just tried to jump onto our couch!

 

[micstrachan]

she just tried to jump onto our couch!

That’s a good sign! Were you able to clean/flush her wounds?