Lost my top girl today. 😢

[Molly Mojo]

I have free rangers in my backyard.

I’m outside a lot and have hiding places for the birds.

I was inside for about an hour (Happened between 10a-11a) and came out to my girl dead on the ground and her head was missing.

No trail. Minimal blood where her body lay. Not many feathers.

Do hawks just take heads? She was 3 months old, so not adult, but still not tiny.

All the others were hiding well, and two of them were hidden so well I had to search.

I will be building an enclosed run in the next month.

I know this is a part of “farm life” and I will adjust, just a bit sad.

She would come onto the porch and talk to me when I had food. It was as if she was presenting her argument about why I should share.

She almost always won the argument

 

[hysop]

I feel like all chicken owners always lose their favorite bird. Out of our first ever flock we had a red sex link we named Curry because she was very courageous and would come up to us and it was nice. She ended up being killed by a stray dog. We have since fenced in our yard to make it more difficult for strays to get near out of nowhere.

There are a lot of predators that will chop off heads. I can’t think of any at the top of my head but I think weasels and raccoons and stuff. I much rather find feathers at the crime scene knowing my bird was at least a meal to a wild animal than just a dead corpse that can only be buried, burned, or thrown away.

 

[Starburst]

I'm so sorry for your loss! Losing a precious bird can be so hard. Sending you a hug.
Do you have raccoons in your area? If so, it was most likely a raccoon. They will generally eat just the head and then leave the rest of it. Though they usually hunt from dusk to dawn, they have been known to hunt in the day as well.

 

[nao57]

I don't know myself because I haven't experienced this.

But others were saying on other threads that missing heads would mean stuff like weasels, etc.

 

[Molly Mojo]

I feel like all chicken owners always lose their favorite bird. Out of our first ever flock we had a red sex link we named Curry because she was very courageous and would come up to us and it was nice. She ended up being killed by a stray dog. We have since fenced in our yard to make it more difficult for strays to get near out of nowhere.

There are a lot of predators that will chop off heads. I can’t think of any at the top of my head but I think weasels and raccoons and stuff. I much rather find feathers at the crime scene knowing my bird was at least a meal to a wild animal than just a dead corpse that can only be buried, burned, or thrown away.

Thank you for your kind words. They really do comfort.



I don’t know how to process a chicken.

What should I do with her body?

There weren’t even flies on her yet

 

[Molly Mojo]

I don't know myself because I haven't experienced this.

But others were saying on other threads that missing heads would mean stuff like weasels, etc.

I don’t think we have weasels out here. I’d assume a raccoon, but do they strike during the day?

 

[Folly's place]

I'm so sorry!
Or a hawk, especially if disturbed. And the brave chicks, especially without older birds to give warnings, will be easy targets for every predator out there.
Keep everyone in until you have a safe run, because this predator will return!
Mary

 

[hysop]

Thank you for your kind words. They really do comfort.



I don’t know how to process a chicken.

What should I do with her body?

There weren’t even flies on her yet

Since it was killed by a predator I would dispose of it either by burying it or burning it in a fire (if you live out in the country to have a fire). Or if you don’t want to entice predators to dig up the corpse you might be better off tossing it in the trash I hate doing that but sometimes it’s better to do that than alert other predators that there is a free meal nearby and they will keep coming back for more.

 

[nao57]

Since it was killed by a predator I would dispose of it either by burying it or burning it in a fire (if you live out in the country to have a fire). Or if you don’t want to entice predators to dig up the corpse you might be better off tossing it in the trash I hate doing that but sometimes it’s better to do that than alert other predators that there is a free meal nearby and they will keep coming back for more.

Yeah I kind of forget how painful it is. I hate seeing stuff suffer. Its horrible to see.

And yes destroying it is the best option because these other varmints carry disease.

But on the other side of things the agriculture systems in the US are very stressed out right now. So it would be a good idea to plan for some meat birds to raise. (I know this is hard to hear. I'm sorry.)

And you may also want to check all the fencing. Find out how this thing got in. Take some protective measures to secure your property. There are things you can do low cost on a budget also. And I would emphasize the low cost stuff first.

 

[HappyClucker7]

I'm sorry for your loss.