my rooster ate a bird

[Mantaloupe]

My rooster caught a small bird today and was wrestling with it and finally swallowed it after about 10 minutes of pecking it to death. Is this bad for him? not sure what I should do or if I should even worry about it.

Thanks!

 

[sumi]

Perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. My chickens have devoured mice, birds, frogs and at least 2 small snakes and came to no harm. I think of it it as an extra, high protein snack

 

[Bigrooster42]

Mine have killed baby robins before but didn't eat them And I'm new to this how do I post something new of my own

 

[Mantaloupe]

just make a new thread. I'm new too. that was my first post. I wish I had joined a while ago though. I used to have about 40 chickens and something went in one night and killed all of them except 12 and it didn't even eat them. dead chickens everywhere.

 

[theoldchick]

Chickens can and will eat anything that doesn't get out of their way. We are very fortunate they are not five feet tall or we'd be eaten by them, too.

Your rooster should be fine.

 

[sumi]

@Bigrooster42

Here's a guide that explains how things work here and how to do certain things:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/faq

@Mantaloupe I'm so sorry to hear about your losses! What a nightmare...

I've lost many chickens to predators myself, but at least mine got eaten, they weren't just a senseless killing. Not that it made me feel any better at the time!

 

[lazy gardener]

Mantaloupe: Sounds like your murderer was a weasel. They have a stimulus driven killing reflex. As long as they see movement, they will continue their killing spree. Can get into amazingly small areas... anything smaller than an inch for the least weasel.

 

[sumi]

@lazy gardener I think you're right. See here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...ors-how-to-protect-your-chickens-from-weasels