My girl was attacked by a groundhog

[mississippifarmboy]

http://www.inspiredstartup.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/groundhog_main.jpg
The ones we have around here never bother other animals. Or never have yet, they might turn evil and kill us all this afternoon.

Good eatin' themselves though.

 

[annageckos]

Where are you located? That will help narrow down what the animal was. It is highly unlikely that a groundhog attacked your chickens or was after the eggs. Groundhogs also do not have a long snout, their face is rather blunt. A badger does have a longer snout though, and hedgehogs are not native to North America(if that is where you are located). They are also rather small and insectivores.

 

[Churkenduse]

You guys are wonderful to answer so quickly.
Could he have just been nosey and just wented to see what was in the coop?
I can't imagine a carnivore just stopping by to say hi without attacking and worry about getting out later.
I am not born a country gal so I am not to sure, it is more like a hedge hig than any ohter, not to say it was just closer looking. and it was 2 AM.

 

[tigtoy]

it could possibly be a weasel.

 

[Churkenduse]

I live in Central NJ close to the Bay. the animal was a bit fat, he was all over brown no spots or stripes, he had more if a blunt snout than a pointy one. But not a flat face. His body was a bit flat also.
He looks like something I saw before but cannot remember what he is. He did not make any noise, he just got in, scared my hens made lot of noise trying to get out, there didn't seem to be any eggs missing, and I do not believe he tried to attck the hens.
I really think he was just curious and found himslf in a bad spot, does that help?

 

[danischi24]

A raccoon?

 

[Churkenduse]

No, It really looked like a ground hog, my thinking is it just wandered in thinking there was food in there and got locked in.
We have so many groundhog holes around here and I live on a wildlife preserve and there are a million of them.

If he wanted a chicken I am sure he woujld have killed one, I think she got so excited that she flapped her wings so hard it got injured.

If it were broken wouldn't it be hanging? the more I thnk about it she probably just hurt it really badly and is just finding it hard to keep up all the way.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Quote:
I think if it was a groundhog, this is most likely what happened.

 

[nicokl502]

we had a groundhog stuck in the hood of are car once they are mean, they have very sharp teeth, big brown and around, i had never seen one up close before then. He always lived in our back yard and that day for some odd reason he came out in our front yard got so freaked out that he ran up in our hood of the car and would not move for days . We try everything to get him out gave him food, use water and even poked him with a stick, i know it sounds mean but we had to use the car, i never thought that groundhogs where mean but they are when they are stuck so i guess i can see him going into your coop to see whats in there they he freaks out because he can't leaves, they can be mean but i don't think they would go in there for the eggs or chickens we gave him fruit when he was stuck in out hood and he ate that up . hope he never come back

 

[Churkenduse]

I think so, sounds allot like mine. I just saw her she ran for food so she can't be that bad off but her wind is definitely hurt really bad.

I feel so helpless.