Help! What happened?!

[LaFleche]

Haven’t seen a raccoon or opossum the whole time we’ve lived here (it’s a heavy residential/traffic area). Does anyone make anything out of the lack of visceral wounds but blood coming from the mouth?

Contusion can lead to rupture of blood vessels and/or inner organs and bleeding.

 

[LaFleche]

Our dogs are 8lb indoor Brussel Griffons. Lol they are only interested in table chicken. Ha!

Don't underestimate the vigour of small dogs once they get excited.

And with you gone they might give in to some usually hidden fervour they would never display with you present.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. I would also agree that this seems like a predator attack. A game camera might show what was responsible, since they usually come back. We have hawks, raccoons, coyotes, fox, but there are others. A bobcat recently killed 3 of our remaining 6 chickens at 2 in the afternoon. We only saw it when it was retrieving the last of the bodies.

 

[SCchickengal]

They have access to outside, so I can’t say they weren’t out there. I can’t really picture them mauling two chickens bigger than them after not having interest in the chickens for six months but not out of the realm of possibilities I suppose. It seems like if it were another predator of some kind they would’ve made off with the bird? She was definitely defenseless and ripe for the taking. That part doesn’t make sense either. I guess my main concern is ruling out a fight with the Brahma and/or disease. Do y’all think those two things are possibilities or not really?

 

[SCchickengal]

I will be keeping a very close eye on the dogs. Just in case. The thought that technically I can’t rule them out makes this even more upsetting.

 

[Aquira]

With the amount of feathers, it really doesn't seem like it would've been a fight between two chickens that caused it. I'm still betting some kind of predator, it's possible it got scared off by something else before it could consume your chicken (s). It could also have been a young predator still learning to hunt and the chickens managed to get out of it's grasp.

 

[whitewolf1871341]

Also to add, the CRC has been fine— foraging in the yard as usual, laying eggs per usual, nothing amiss at all. The only thing in hindsight I am questioning is the fact that about 1.5 weeks ago, she had a small Knick on her comb and there was the faintest sign of blood under the feathers on her head. But that went away and all was well. I assumed then that it was either snagged on something while foraging or MAYBE a little squabble that resolved but happened to just catch her comb. I’ve not seen this chicken be bullied or bully at all though, so that is confusing. When they have been in the coop at night, we have two roosts— the CRC, Barred Rock and the 4 July chicks are all on the top roost. The past couple days my husband says the BB has been on the second (lower) roost (the newbies aren’t yet in the coop). Does any of this mean anything?

You sure there wasn't a predator It just sounds kind of odd that they were all getting along and then now one's dead I've seen some pretty bad squabbles but I don't know my first instinct was something got in there while you were gone

 

[SCchickengal]

I can’t say something didn’t get in during my short absence, but I’m very perplexed on what it could have been. Our privacy fence is 6 feet tall and there are no holes underneath the entire perimeter. Like I said, we do not live in an area that has wildlife abundant. It’s very populated here, which is why we can’t have roosters. Technically we can’t have chickens at all, but my husband is breaking the rules. So the fox, bobcat, etc variety seems highly unlikely. While the opossum/raccoon variety is a tad more plausible by a smidge (never seen either here), this happened at approx 12pm, which I don’t think is their typical hunting time but not impossible. Even IF it were a predator of that sort, I am sorely puzzled on why they wouldn’t have taken their prize. She was laying in the yard basically dead ready for the taking. For curiosity’s sake, my husband had the Brahma on his lap on our porch just a little while. He called the Griffs up to him and they also jumped on his other side. No one seemed phased, the chicken or the dogs. Would the chicken freak out of it her attacker from a few hours ago jumped up beside her? I’d think so. But I just don’t know! I wish so badly I knew what happened. I definitely don’t want this to happen again. So traumatizing!

 

[LaFleche]

Foxes live in suburbia and jump over high fences all the time:

 

[LaFleche]

And coyotes just as well: