My chickens are killing each other. No. They really are.

[polychip]

Well there might be to many chickens in the same coop. Thats why they might be killing each other.

It's a 40'X40' coop with about a dozen chickens in it. I started with 18. There's a lot of space. That's why I'm perplexed. It defies logic.

 

[polychip]

According to Google and Wikipedia, you've got
badgers, mink, ferrets and weasels in Tx. The mink, ferrets and weasels could easily squeeze into the smallest of spaces or get around chicken wire and then climb up the roost to get to them. Just sayin', they'd be what I would be looking for if I was in your situation. They're VERY difficult to get rid of.

I emailed the agriculture extension agent and he said weasels are very rare in this part of Texas. He noted that there are no known weasel populations in the area. Emphasis on the word "known." BUT the only thing left is that chicken wire. It's the one thing that's a question. So my hand is out there putting up hardware cloth. I think that's what you call it. It's got tiny squares, maybe a quarter inch apiece. He won't get it all done before nightfall, however. I hesitate to change more than one variable at a time because we may never know if I do that. But these are my chickens' lives, you know?

Then if no chickens die, I let my dominant hen out and see if she kills anyone? Ugh. It makes me sick. I just can't believe she would do such a thing. She's old and she's a COCHIN. What bird can run from an old, fat Cochin?

 

[aart]

I still think smaller snake.....choked it down enough to kill it but too big to swallow so chucked it back up.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

^ It very well could be a snake too, they're good climbers and good at finding places that aren't protected. Its pretty horrible to find a chicken that's been spit back up by a snake :/ And I'd bet you have plenty of them in Tx!

 

[polychip]

Why would a snake kill a chicken and leave it there? How often do snakes eat? These chickens are found dead day after day. Also in the same place in the coop.

Here's the update. No dead chickens this morning! Game camera showed nothing except fluffy chicken butts. The grumpy hen is still isolated and getting grumpier by the minute. The doors are still covered mostly with chicken wire. We've had bad weather here so we won't get all the hardware cloth up until the weekend.

Recap:
I feed Flock Raiser with free choice oyster shells and cubed hay for forrage.
holes sealed, nothing digging under
No signs of forced entry
Dead adult chickens and pullets
Those that aren't eaten have wounds on neck and head
Chickens found roughly in the same place every time. No hazards found in that area
Chickens are being killed during the day, inside a sealed coop
The only holes left are the chicken wire on the doors
Dominant hen isolated. No deaths since that hen has been locked up.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Sometimes snakes will take down prey that are too big for them to swallow. They'll start to swallow them down, which kills the victim, and then they regurgitate them when they can't swallow them all the way.

Maybe your mean hen is to blame? Or maybe now you're just keeping whatever was getting in, out? Either way, I hope your good luck continues!

 

[polychip]

Well. I came home and there was a dead chicken in the coop. The game camera fell over so it didn't catch anything. Grrrr. I'm so frustrated. I eliminated the area where the dead chickens are found each time. It looks like they can go forward and back but if something's on top of them, they wouldn't be able to jump over the 2X4 at the base of the roost. It's a long shot. I'm about to go out and set up the camera again.

 

[aart]

Well. I came home and there was a dead chicken in the coop. The game camera fell over so it didn't catch anything. Grrrr. I'm so frustrated. I eliminated the area where the dead chickens are found each time. It looks like they can go forward and back but if something's on top of them, they wouldn't be able to jump over the 2X4 at the base of the roost. It's a long shot. I'm about to go out and set up the camera again.

Oh Crap!! I was starting to hope it was just that mean hen....tie that game cam down good.
I hope you don't run out of chicken before you solve this mystery.

 

[polychip]

Oh Crap!! I was starting to hope it was just that mean hen....tie that game cam down good.
I hope you don't run out of chicken before you solve this mystery.

Last one standing is the guilty party, right? I could have miscounted but I don't think I did. I took some pics. They're not too awful the bird is removed but there's an orange tuft where it was. The firsts will be where the roost was and then then I will show where I moved it.

 

[farnorth]

I'm guessing weasel too.