Help!! Lost a hen this morning.....

[Machelle the chellbug!]

Well I went to feed my girls this morning and they were all near the house not there coop??? Seeing one missing I go to look in the laying boxes and there lies one of my white leghorns....Bitten at the neck, feathers everywhere, but not eaten...must have happened last night..

My girls are a year old this thursday and have never had any problems with critters, our dogs or cats????
Now my girls wont go to the coop area, not even to the food??? My husband and I cleaned out the coop..feathers,Opal....Do I need to do something special to get rid of the smell of what happened??? I need some ideas! Thank you~Machelle

 

[Morgaine]

I'm really sorry you lost one of your girls.

If they don't go in there by night time, I would move them in there while they are sleeping. I would also go over every inch and look for the way the animal got in and try to fix it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Looking at this Oklahoma State site, the likely culprit is a weasel. They can be very difficult to keep out of the coop. Your county extension agent will be able to offer better guidance than me on how to catch it.

http://osuextra.okstate.edu/pdfs/F-8204web.pdf

I wish you luck.

 

[Machelle the chellbug!]

Thank you!!