I got home last night and my dog came running up to meet me. My dog is supposed to be in his kennel.
I ran into the back field where the chickens are kept and saw absolute carnage. Feathers everywhere, blood spattered on the leaves, and chicken carcasses all around.
Two were still alive. One was actually the young peafowl my silkie hen had hatched and raised over the summer but she was so bloody and torn up she wasn't even recognizable. The second was my favorite hen of all time, Red Raggles. Both were in severe states of shock, limp and barely breathing. Three other chickens were dead, two roosters and one of my beloved silkies.
The little peafowl had a bleeding head wound so I used a napkin to try to stop the bleeding. It eventually stopped, but she was barely conscious, twitching occasionally and barely breathing.
At first glance Red Raggles seemed in better shape, but she was wheezing and seemed extremely disoriented. I put both of them in boxes near a heat lamp to recover. We lost the peafowl within the hour. She simply faded away quietly in the night.
Red Raggles had some kind of liquid dripping from her beak but I was afraid to clean it in case I made things worse. She was out of it and once I went to check on her and she panicked or had a seizure or something. She kicked and flapped and jerked as hard as she could and so I grabbed her and quickly wrapped her tightly in a towel so that she didn't hurt herself. She pooped once while she was inside and it was very wet and runny.
I woke up in the middle of the night and she was gone.
I feel devastated that this happened and I wonder what I could do better in the future. My dog is usually in his kennel while I am gone because he is known to attack birds only when I am gone so I take measures to make sure he's never loose. He had FORCED the door open and bent the solid metal to get out. Now half my beautiful flock is dead. I'm going to miss those silly birds. Red Raggles was always the one that stood outside the door pecking the window, wanting to come inside. She was always the first to get into the things she shouldn't but always was there for you if you needed something warm and feathery to hug. She was my favorite for a reason.
Anyways, thanks for reading guys. You're all awesome
I ran into the back field where the chickens are kept and saw absolute carnage. Feathers everywhere, blood spattered on the leaves, and chicken carcasses all around.
Two were still alive. One was actually the young peafowl my silkie hen had hatched and raised over the summer but she was so bloody and torn up she wasn't even recognizable. The second was my favorite hen of all time, Red Raggles. Both were in severe states of shock, limp and barely breathing. Three other chickens were dead, two roosters and one of my beloved silkies.
The little peafowl had a bleeding head wound so I used a napkin to try to stop the bleeding. It eventually stopped, but she was barely conscious, twitching occasionally and barely breathing.
At first glance Red Raggles seemed in better shape, but she was wheezing and seemed extremely disoriented. I put both of them in boxes near a heat lamp to recover. We lost the peafowl within the hour. She simply faded away quietly in the night.
Red Raggles had some kind of liquid dripping from her beak but I was afraid to clean it in case I made things worse. She was out of it and once I went to check on her and she panicked or had a seizure or something. She kicked and flapped and jerked as hard as she could and so I grabbed her and quickly wrapped her tightly in a towel so that she didn't hurt herself. She pooped once while she was inside and it was very wet and runny.
I woke up in the middle of the night and she was gone.
I feel devastated that this happened and I wonder what I could do better in the future. My dog is usually in his kennel while I am gone because he is known to attack birds only when I am gone so I take measures to make sure he's never loose. He had FORCED the door open and bent the solid metal to get out. Now half my beautiful flock is dead. I'm going to miss those silly birds. Red Raggles was always the one that stood outside the door pecking the window, wanting to come inside. She was always the first to get into the things she shouldn't but always was there for you if you needed something warm and feathery to hug. She was my favorite for a reason.
Anyways, thanks for reading guys. You're all awesome
So sorry for your loss. I can relate from losses I have had in the past. Often times it's the favorite birds we loose. I lost my most favorite bird from a fox when I was out with her and got distracted and thousands of times I have said to my self "if only I had put her back in her pen whille I was distracted." I'm glad I have a lot of pictures. You will still have some good memories. Good luck...
