Lost my top girl today. 😢

[CherPDX]

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.
We just lost a favorite 5.5 week old chick tonight. I cannot believe how devastated I feel. She was also my partner
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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.
View attachment 2228066

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

Molly, I am so sorry. I/We just lost one of our favorite 5-week old chicks. I cannot believe how devastated I feel, but she is gone (probably a raccoon just past sundown...I should have been home a bit earlier to take them back inside a little bit earlier.) I cannot stop crying and even feel a bit silly, but this really hurts and I am grieving and feeling at fault for this young one's demise. Why and how do we become so attached to a darned bird that most of us devour? I feel like such a hippocrite and a major wimp!

 

[CherPDX]

So sorry for your loss!

Hawks will absolutely take just a head. About a month ago I heard some commotion among my birds and came outside to see what was going on. I saw very clearly a red tailed hawk fly off into the woods, and found the remains of a weeks-old gosling and a pullet. The pullet was missing just the head, while the gosling was...we'll say, 95% gone. Nearest I can figure, the hawk dropped down onto the pullet, took the head quickly, then saw the gosling and decided to change targets and take her time with the younger bird.

Owls are also known for taking just the head, but given the timing it was more likely a hawk in your case. For what it's worth, I have guard geese and while that didn't prevent the attack, it was hearing the gander honking that made me suspect something was up. As an added measure, I've since put up a scarecrow, and move it every few days so it circles the run. Haven't had any attacks since, despite the run being right on the edge of the woods and every incentive for that hawk to return. Might not be super effective if your girls are free-ranging all day, but since aerial predators aren't stopped by electric fencing, it's helpful to have some kind of deterrent, especially one that resembles a human. You could also try playing talk radio near where they free-range. The human voices sometimes deter predators.

Thank you for the insights... I am so sorry.

 

[Plsc]

Cats will do that too, had to deal with a couple barn cats that were killing the chickens

 

[CherPDX]

Yes. We just lost a young but not baby chicken to a Cooper’s hawk. Took head! You interrupted the feast. We left her for the hawk to finish. Sad.

So sorry...We lost our favorite 5 week old tonight too. Cannot believe how devastated I feel about a darned bird...but I do. ❤

 

[Nebraska islander]

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.
View attachment 2228066

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

From my experience only predator that removes the head are mink. You dont have to live near water to have a mink issue. They are efficiently fast killers of anything on ground or can get to and easily will try to attack even a large turkey.
I have had mink fit thru a 1.25" size hole and thru flight pen netting with ease. I found 3 piles of 5 pheasants beheaded in flight pen and accessed penbbnon a -25 below night by digging under a 36"buried metal panel and back up to inside of pen to perform their merciless killing.
Took 2 months and a professional trapper to help this mink meet his dismise and in mean time after i lockes up gamebirds in a empty grain bin with concrete floor it moved on and wiped out my layers 1/4 mile from gamebird pens. I had a game camera out in flight pen and little feather grim reaper visited gamebird pen every night despite not being able to access them thru steel and concrete. I had wrapped entire outside of pen with steel siding trim coil so claws couldnt stick and 48" of hardware cloth around base but still got in. Figured out a sliding barn door pole was exposed wood and he would scale pole and walk sliding door track jump to roof and get in thru 1" flight pen netting. I put steel around pole and he got stuck in pen because i interupted a meal in a dead bird trap near a 3x 4 ft shed in pen for storing supplies. He was caught shortly after i was in pen grabbing supplies and he paniced and ran thru the trap of no return. Only predator ive enountered that will behead its victim and gorge on blood for meal. Total waste of a good bird not to mention my next years birds for hatching eggs from what they lay. Chickens was last straw and even tried to take on 8 hens and 3 tom turkeys unsuccessfully but their pen looked like WW3 inside in morning.
Get some live traps and order some trappers bait and hope for the best because it won't go away on its own till there is nothing more to kill but it will frequent its dinner spots frequently so beware and vigilant. Hope they dont have a litter near by.
Sorry to be so dismal but they are the worse thing next to a bear only with a bigger ego.
Good luck. Lock up the girls in a fortress otherwise there will be a slaughter coming, they cant stop and i am guessing you interupted its attack and are lucky it only got one chicken.

 

[Nebraska islander]

From my experience only predator that removes the head are mink. You dont have to live near water to have a mink issue. They are efficiently fast killers of anything on ground or can get to and easily will try to attack even a large turkey.
I have had mink fit thru a 1.25" size hole and thru flight pen netting with ease. I found 3 piles of 5 pheasants beheaded in flight pen and accessed penbbnon a -25 below night by digging under a 36"buried metal panel and back up to inside of pen to perform their merciless killing.
Took 2 months and a professional trapper to help this mink meet his dismise and in mean time after i lockes up gamebirds in a empty grain bin with concrete floor it moved on and wiped out my layers 1/4 mile from gamebird pens. I had a game camera out in flight pen and little feather grim reaper visited gamebird pen every night despite not being able to access them thru steel and concrete. I had wrapped entire outside of pen with steel siding trim coil so claws couldnt stick and 48" of hardware cloth around base but still got in. Figured out a sliding barn door pole was exposed wood and he would scale pole and walk sliding door track jump to roof and get in thru 1" flight pen netting. I put steel around pole and he got stuck in pen because i interupted a meal in a dead bird trap near a 3x 4 ft shed in pen for storing supplies. He was caught shortly after i was in pen grabbing supplies and he paniced and ran thru the trap of no return. Only predator ive enountered that will behead its victim and gorge on blood for meal. Total waste of a good bird not to mention my next years birds for hatching eggs from what they lay. Chickens was last straw and even tried to take on 8 hens and 3 tom turkeys unsuccessfully but their pen looked like WW3 inside in morning.
Get some live traps and order some trappers bait and hope for the best because it won't go away on its own till there is nothing more to kill but it will frequent its dinner spots frequently so beware and vigilant. Hope they dont have a litter near by.
Sorry to be so dismal but they are the worse thing next to a bear only with a bigger ego.
Good luck. Lock up the girls in a fortress otherwise there will be a slaughter coming, they cant stop and i am guessing you interupted its attack and are lucky it only got one chicken.

I stand corrected a barn owl will behead a burd also but usually night predator.

 

[Samroo]

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.
View attachment 2228066

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

I use to have a cat that had a little wild side to him and he use to eat just the head of a rabbit only. So, maybe you got a local cat that found your birds. I have a local cat coming around the coop and stalking my birds. My own cat ignores them and actually will chase off other cats.

 

[fanniefarmer]

I dont believe in throwing a creature in the trash life waste paper. I wrap them in red fabric. I smug them with sage. I thank them for the time they spent with me. I bury mine deeply using a post hole digger. I sprinkle some crumble and scratch in the hole/grave, put large large rocks over the site and leave them there for a few weeks. They were in my care so I send their remains off with dignity. I would do nothing less. IN THE TRASH??? How disrespectful of a precious life!

I understand and agree with your view regarding life. I do not agree with your judgemental tone regarding someone’s choice of how to dispose of a dead animal. Not everyone is capable of digging deep holes and moving heavy rocks. Eating meat that hasn’t been bled is warned against in the Bible so that would be something many of us would avoid also. It’s a conscience decision for each person to make according to they’re own conscience, not someone else’s. I don’t think name-calling, i.e. “disrespectful” exactly follows the rules of this website. What may be disrespectful to you is actually something quite different to someone else. We’re each entitled to our own view and have the freedom to express it here within limits.

 

[Mach 2]

Sorry to hear it always seems like it is the favorites , few seasons ago we lost Caramel my 10 year olds (at the time) favorite to coyotes, left feathers all over the pasture. He was distraught for the whole summer. Ours are totally free range and almost all have passed to old age (still hard) Since I gave up on poop on the hay bales so they roost in the rafters, no more predation. We have an awesome Roo incredibly brave almost reckless. Almost lost him last time. Again really sorry.

 

[Mach 2]

I understand and agree with your view regarding life. I do not agree with your judgemental tone regarding someone’s choice of how to dispose of a dead animal. Not everyone is capable of digging deep holes and moving heavy rocks. Eating meat that hasn’t been bled is warned against in the Bible so that would be something many of us would avoid also. It’s a conscience decision for each person to make according to they’re own conscience, not someone else’s. I don’t think name-calling, i.e. “disrespectful” exactly follows the rules of this website. What may be disrespectful to you is actually something quite different to someone else. We’re each entitled to our own view and have the freedom to express it here within limits.

My kids are of the Star Wars generation, while they were still at home they always provided a quick funeral with a blazing funeral pyre made from broken branches, twigs and scrap wood. They contended they gave their eggs and entertainment and deserved a memorable send off.
You do what you feel, don't judge.