SCchickengal
Chirping
- Jun 4, 2021
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We had two deaths yesterday around Noon. Our fully grown Buff Brahma and Cinnamon Queen hens. Over the past year we’ve had a few other deaths. Two of them have definitely been hawks, and two others were less obvious (no one was caught, no one was devoured, one barely punctured and one not dead but internally bleeding so I was never convinced it was a hawk). We’ve caught the hawks devouring our birds and have scared them off mid-lunch. But those were singular attacks, just one bird at a time. Yesterday there were two dead birds and neither of them was terribly mauled. One of them was in the uncovered part of the run (run fence is 4ft on two sides, 6ft on two sides), one of them was inside the covered run space that is only accessed by a tiny door (approx. 12x9–small). Our yard is completely fenced by a 6ft privacy fence (no holes) and we are totally surrounded in a urban setting. I have cameras that would’ve caught anything entering or exiting both sides of my yard. The other 7 hens were in the coop very afraid but unharmed. My question is— what would’ve gone through the tiny door to kill the Brahma and left the other seven in the coop alone? The CQ was outside the tiny door with mostly just neck injuries. I know it wasn’t a dog, FYI. The internet doesn’t seem to make a big deal about about domestic cats and full grown chickens but this seems the most plausible to me for this occasion. Any insight?