Hens appear healthy, but the next morning I found one dead in the nesting box.

[DJ Oliver]

My hens and rooster appear very healthy. Nothing out of the ordinary as far as droppings, feathers, etc., but when my husband checked on them, he found one dead in the nesting box. He said it looked like something had made a hole in its back above the tail feathers and started eating it's insides. This is the second hen in a week that has been found dead this way. The first one I thought it might be an obstruction and that the other chickens then started to eat it, but now with a second death, I know something else is up. We have also noticed that something, maybe the chickens, have started eating eating the eggs. Oh and my husband said that he found ants inside the chicken.

 

[sourland]

sorry for the circumstances. Something is gaining access to your coop and killing your hens. Turn it into a Fort Knox, lock up nightly, and set a box trap baited with sardines or meat. Good luck at eliminating the problem. The ants arrived after the hen had been killed.

 

[andreanar]

How old are your chickens? Have you checked them over real good for bugs? Have you searched your coop top to bottom for any holes?

 

[DJ Oliver]

sorry for the circumstances. Something is gaining access to your coop and killing your hens. Turn it into a Fort Knox, lock up nightly, and set a box trap baited with sardines or meat. Good luck at eliminating the problem. The ants arrived after the hen had been killed.

Thank you so much for your quick reply. I thought with the chicken wire all around the pen top to bottom, which is where are coops are located, that nothing other than maybe a snake could get in, but I know snakes don't eat holes in chickens. I will set another trap and bait it tonight and see if we catch anything. Thank you again for your advice.

 

[DJ Oliver]

How old are your chickens? Have you checked them over real good for bugs? Have you searched your coop top to bottom for any holes?

Some of my hens are 3 years old and others 2 years old. We have not caught them to closely check for bugs. They move pretty fast, but when we feed them their mealworms we have a good visual and have not noticed any bugs. Thank you for your quick response and advice. We will take a closer look at them.

 

[andreanar]

Chicken wire is pretty much useless, except to keep your chickens IN, it wont keep other critters OUT.

 

[Brummie Pekin]

Could have been a small mouse or rat. And in that case set a trap like @sourland suggested.

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

That kind of injury, could be the work of a possum that is taking advantage of the sitting hens. Sometimes they go into a trance like state and don't even notice the predator till it's too late. If the coop has a dirt floor, look for holes/tunnels into the coop, also chewed openings in the wood walls and ceiling. If the pen is not secure that is probably another entry point. Sourland makes an excellent suggestion, set a baited trap. Catch, then kill the killer! Get your pellet gun ready!

 

[andreanar]

Hardware cloth can be found at farm stores or building supply stores. Its a tough tight metal. I line any and all ventilation areas, windows or small holes in my coop with it. I'm fine with free ranging, but I'm not letting anything get my girls while they are defenseless in the coop. Do a search, using the search button at the top of the page, for a hardware cloth and you will find out everything you need to know and more. LOL

 

[LadyRed76]

Rats will bite chickens and slowly nibble.
Weasels will do the same thing.
They can fit through a hole the size of their heads. So it can be as small as a quarter.
Rats and weasels can chew or bite through chicken wire.
As andreanar said..try Hardware cloth. Much stronger!
If you can...put chickens elsewhere one night and leave a live trap in coop.
Not fun at all loosing a chicken to predators.
Good Luck!