So we were out of town a few days. We returned, we found one chicken who managed to wedge her head between the fence and a hen house post. Needless to say she died. I just have to wonder, did the chicken ever considered pulling her head backward and thus freeing herself? Instead, it looked like she just tried to force her way through a narrow gap.
I lost a pullet who got tangled in a bit of fencing, panicked, and presumably scared herself to death. This occurred within 10 hours, certainly not long enough for it to die of starvation. Very sad. Not very smart.
Mine fly over the chain link fence, then repeatly stick their heads and necks through it trying to get back into our yard. They get all panicked and do it over and over, like they expect the next, identical 2-inch hole will be big enough for their big ol' bodies to go through. And they don't seem to make the connection that they can fly BACK OVER!
Chickens - smart? No. Chickens - stupid? Yes. Don't expect much from them other then a bunch of laughs at how funny/stupid they are. That and their eggs. But it's why I love mine, they are so curious and the dumb antics they do are just hilarious. Sorry about your loss though, I'm guessing you should chicken proof the area to prevent any of that.
One of mine seems somewhat clever, then she does something stupid like keep grabbing the green beans I'm trimming out of my bucket in hopes that the next one will taste better than the last.
