Help please

[Pater est Pullis]

I understand what you're saying and although I agree she most likely would be dead if this were from a predator I know from many personal experiences spring of 2017 that this isn't always the case. Unfortunately we had a very bad beginning to 2017 that involved losing most of our juveniles to rats that were 12-18 inches long not including the tails, some even longer. These rats were predatory and would attack the unsuspecting birds while they slept(although at this point they were large enough and the juveniles small enough yet to overpower the birds). They would then eat into the vent and would eat out the intestines of the birds. We found many dead of course but about 1/3 we found alive and walking. With no digestive tract. These birds were of course put out of their misery immediately. It is possible that some of the aforementioned attacks were from the mink although we had no clues it was around at that time. However we did catch rats in the coop so we know the were a large part of the problem if not the whole problem.

We also later discovered that we had a mink that was also possibly attacking and killing our birds.

Thirdly yes we do know once the body cavities opened and the innards spilled out the blood did attract the other juveniles. However they never opened their hatch mates themselves or it would have continued after the rats were dealt with.

When I saw the pics, rats, were the first thing that popped to mind.

 

[MzGina]

so so sorry. I hope you find peace. I can not imagine how hard it is.

 

[Sassysouth]

Thank you all for the love.
Our beautiful girl is no longer suffering.
Still a little shaken as to what exactly took place with her. We have only had our flock for 7 months.... hoping Tragedy is not a common occurrence :0(

I don’t think you can have chickens and death not happen eventually.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Thank you all for the love.
Our beautiful girl is no longer suffering.
Still a little shaken as to what exactly took place with her. We have only had our flock for 7 months.... hoping Tragedy is not a common occurrence :0(

You did the kindest thing you could, I do know how hard that is. I doubt you will have this problem again. I have raised chickens for almost 4 years now and I have not seen such a sadness. I have had problems with minor things such as respiratory ailments and bumblefoot, but nothing too severe. Predator attacks can be gruesome as well, but I think you just pulled the short straw here. Thank you for taking good care of her, there’s nothing more you could have done.

 

[bobbi-j]

OP, I obviously missed the post where you said you ha already put her out of her misery. You did right by her. You tried. That's the best you can do. In my 30+ years of raising chickens, I have never seen anything like that. I think it's safe to say that it's not a common occurrence.

 

[micstrachan]

I am so very sorry for your loss. I feel you did the right thing. I’m sure it still hurts, though. Big hug.

 

[rebrascora]

I'm so sorry! You absolutely made the right decision, hard as that is. Unfortunately chickens are prone to so many illnesses and diseases that there are sad occasions like this every now and then but there are lots of wonderful times in between that make keeping them so worth while. I am sorry that you had to deal with one of those sad occasions so early in your poultry experience and hope that it is a very long time until the next.

 

[chickendreams24]

When I saw the pics, rats, were the first thing that popped to mind.

Have you had similar experiences? I haven't heard of anyone else having this kind of experience with rats except chewing on toes. I found a thread on here a couple of years ago about beaks being eaten off silkies but I've never found it again even when looking. It was only a YouTube video of mice(overgrown on an island) attacking a species of bird's chicks in that way before they fledged that actually confirmed we were right about the rats.


To the OP I am so sorry for your loss. Sometimes there's just nothing we can do as responsible flock owners no matter how very much we want to fix it. Unfortunately making the decision and bearing that burden is our weight to carry. Be assured you did the right thing for your girl. She is at peace now. I don't believe you will often have such tragedies occur, but they can happen. It is best to be prepared, have a plan of action in case of emergency, including euthanasia or culling and a well stocked chicken first aid kit.

It's easier with a smaller flock, but I have learned that everything likes to eat chicken and that chickens find many ways to kill/injure themselves. Even things as simple as a feed bowl, they may tip it on themselves and once in the dark just sit there even to suffocation. They're so worth it though. Even on the worst days time with my flock reminds me and I'm sure us all why we do it.

Because sometimes a chicken is better than a dog. (Please don't tell my dog I said that.) LOL or my chickens their heads are big enough

Good luck with the rest of your flock and don't despair, you really did do the right thing.

 

[Allen752]

@Dippity Oh my goodness. Is that coils of intestines?

After read this, i think now i know what happened to one of my chicken last week, she got a coils.