Help! Cannibal chickens

[Mvan42]

x2

Head wounds on chickens seem to bleed profusely, and I've been horrified a couple times now by blood that turned out to be a nicked comb.

X3. I suspect a predator.. with no light they can't see at night. There for they wouldn't have done it.

 

[Mvan42]

Do you close the run off at night, or is it open all the time?

 

[Cryss]

X3. I suspect a predator.. with no light they can't see at night. There for they wouldn't have done it.

Excellent point. Chickens never move when it’s dark which is why nighttime predators are so successful. And as has been said, tiny pinpoint scratches on a comb or wattle can produce gobs of blood yet the wound is so small you just can’t see it. I’d suspect a predator in the dark tried to get “suspect”, somehow missed and got to becky. Worth considering.

 

[3KillerBs]

If a predator got in and killed a chicken but didn't carry it of the remaining flock members would certainly have picked at the body. Likewise if the chicken died of natural causes.

 

[NatJ]

Should I get rid of the chicken who I think was the ringleader? My neighbor has wanted to buy a couple of mine (she's had hens for years, down to a few older ones now). Obviously I would let her know my suspicions about this one.

Are you able to separate the ringleader for a few days? Maybe a dog crate inside the coop or run?

That would be a way to test your idea before doing anything more permanent.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Chickens don't see very well at night. Just because a flockmate had blood on them does not make them the predator.
I had a hen that cut her wattle on a staple in the run - she flung her head around bloodying not only herself but several other hens too...
Chickens will also peck at another that is bloody. It's possible the other was dead and your suspected hen pecked at her before you opened up this morning.
If you didn't see it happen, it's just a lot assumptions and musings...dozens of possibilities.
Put up a camera and see what's going on at night.

If you absolutely feel that she did it, then don't re-home the killer because it could happen again in someone else's flock. Cull her yourself and give her a home in the crockpot.

 

[Flockincrazy]

I've noticed in the past flocks if my chickens don't have enough protein they will go cannibal on the meekest one maybe increase there protein sorry for your loss

 

[rosemarythyme]

Chickens will also peck at another that is bloody. It's possible the other was dead and your suspected hen pecked at her before you opened up this morning.
If you didn't see it happen, it's just a lot assumptions and musings...dozens of possibilities.
Put up a camera and see what's going on at night.

x2. When I first started out with chickens, I went out to the coop one day and one of my chicks was dead, and the other two had her blood all over their faces. Turns out she died in an accident (got her toe caught in a crevice in the coop, and then looks like she panicked herself to death) and the others took advantage of the "free meal." If it wasn't for the fact that her toe was still stuck, I might've assumed that the others turned on her for no reason.

 

[aart]

Get that foam board out of there before they eat any more of it.