Help. Lost my BR last night.

[franckowiakfarm]

Hi. I went out to open up the coop this morning and found my female BR had passed away. Last night when I was putting them up I noticed she was holding one leg up. She was also hopping around on the floor (she is always perched up high when I go in). She wouldn't let me get close enough to inspect it but she was nursing it. This morning when I went out she was deceased? I have no idea how this could have happened. I only had one tom and her. There is no way an animal could have gotten in their coop. Is it possible the Tom could have done this? When we looked at her body it looks like she was pecked raw on her back between her wings. Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

Side note: We are located in Northern Michigan and we have a ton of snow here so they don't go out much. They spend most of their day in the coop. Not sure if that info is helpful with suggestions but wanted to throw it out there.

 

[R2elk]

Hi. I went out to open up the coop this morning and found my female BR had passed away. Last night when I was putting them up I noticed she was holding one leg up. She was also hopping around on the floor (she is always perched up high when I go in). She wouldn't let me get close enough to inspect it but she was nursing it. This morning when I went out she was deceased? I have no idea how this could have happened. I only had one tom and her. There is no way an animal could have gotten in their coop. Is it possible the Tom could have done this? When we looked at her body it looks like she was pecked raw on her back between her wings. Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

Side note: We are located in Northern Michigan and we have a ton of snow here so they don't go out much. They spend most of their day in the coop. Not sure if that info is helpful with suggestions but wanted to throw it out there.

It is pretty much assured that the tom caused the damage that you are seeing on her back. It was not done by pecking her raw but was caused by his constant breeding attempts His feet shuffling around on her back is what caused the removal of her feathers. My guess is that if you look closely enough, you will find a gash in her side which would have caused her death. This would have been caused by the tom slipping off of an uncooperative hen's back and ripping her with one of his spurs.

If a person only has one tom and one hen, I highly recommend the use of a turkey saddle (available from poultry suppliers such as Strombergs) to protect the hen from physical abuse from an over zealous tom.

 

[franckowiakfarm]

Thank you so much for the info. I believe you are right on and appreciate your reply. Thanks again.