Help with finding the culprit?

[SharynJoy]

Hello all,

I've been visiting your site for several months now, but this is my first post...

We bought 6 Australorp chicks on May 2. We put them in the coop for the first time on June 11, and the next morning, all but one had passed away. The last one, Lady, has been our pet for the past few weeks. We've had her outside with us whenever we go out, and have put her in the coop a few hours at a time the last week. Today, I put her out all day, and she was fine. When we got home around 9:15, she had passed away too. Morbid as it seems, I took a picture to see if any of you have thoughts. When the first five passed away, there were no obvious feathers about. They were all in a pile, as though they were sleeping--this led us to believe maybe they just freaked out and had a heart attack or something. This one was different, though. It seems as though something traumatic had happened. She was already stiff, so she'd been gone for a while by the time we got home. I turned her over for this picture. If you have any ideas, we'd really appreciate it, as we have more chicks that will be arriving next week, and we are tired of the trauma of losing these precious babies.

Thanks!

 

[MrsBachbach]

Is your coop open? That looks like a picture taken outside so I am wondering if your coop has an open top. Were there any injuries that you could see other than the loose feathers? Chickens can die easily from stress so if she was attacked and survived the attack, the stress could finish her off. She wasn't carried off obviously, so I'm thinking something small. Maybe a small hawk?

 

[SharynJoy]

The only open area is the bottom, but boards go all the way around it. It has chicken wire on the sides & top. My husband and I are wondering if a snake could have done it?

 

[MrsBachbach]

I wouldn't think a snake would pull feathers. Also, chickens are known to attack snakes. I don't know how old they have to be before they attack them, but I know they don't like them and will attack them. I don't know. Something is sneaking under your fence though. You might want to secure that bottom before bringing in new ones. We buried our cinder blocks and put the house on top and buried chicken wire outside the perimeter of the coop to keep things from digging through and have heavy board bases.

 

[Huntress78]

When the first five passed away, there were no obvious feathers about. They were all in a pile, as though they were sleeping--this led us to believe maybe they just freaked out and had a heart attack or something.

This makes me think some kind of poison or fumes from something. Is the coop new? Maybe fumes from paint or treated wood. Is there a heat lamp? Fumes from the bulb might kill them. Could it be something they are eating around the coop/run that is poisonous? The feather loss from Lady could be from her just flapping/struggling as she died.

OR it could be a predator. Where do you live? What predators are in your area? Could be rats, mink, weasel, owl, snake or ??

 

[SharynJoy]

We did use treated wood, but after the others died, I did a lot of reading on it to make sure we didn't kill them with it, and the posts I read said that they've used treated wood for years & they've never had a problem. We live in north Louisiana, humidity capital of the world (haha). Regular wood would rot within 6 months here.

She had a little blood on a foot, and some on the corner of her mouth, which made us think squeezing by a snake. The only opening is a vent on the top of the house, maybe 2 inches high. If that's how something got in, I'm not sure what would be smart enough to figure out how to go out the coop door, to the run, then back through that way.

 

[Huntress78]

I don't know that much about snakes but would a snake kill 5 chickens all at the same time? And not eat one? And then come back and catch another outside and not eat it?
The only animal I can think of that would do that is a weasel. If it happens again look for very small bite marks at the base of the skull or on the neck. Weasels are fast, smart agile, can climb straight up, make a vertical leap of 4 feet or better, fit through the smallest of holes and love to kill.

As long as you don't have any chickens I would wire some chicken gizzards to a rat trap and set it in the coop.

Good luck! Please let us know if you find out what it is.

 

[spikennipper]

can you show us a pic of your coop/run please?

 

[SharynJoy]

Here it is. You can't see it, but there is chicken wire underneath the coop house attached to that board. The only opening without wire is the top...I suppose something could have climbed in there, through the door, then back out, but I just don't know. There are some cats that a neighbor has...I figured if one got in, it would have torn them up. It's a huge mystery to us, but we're newbies. I really appreciate all of your ideas! I think we'll have to try the gizzard trap. I really think the others either freaked out, or suffocated themselves. There were no feathers around them, they were just in a pile, just like they would sleep in their brooder.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Just my thoughts but the first batch sounded like they were much to young to spend the night in an unheated coop. All of them being found dead in a pile bares this out. They were seeking warmth anywhere they could find it. Not enough info on your last chicken.

Cats especially domestic or owned ones kill for chuckles and nothing more. It is the nature of cats.

The 1 inch chicken wire is a not a good idea. Many chicken predators floss their teeth with chicken wire.... AFTER they tear it open and eat your birds.