Need help with my tragedy

[luvinmychickies]

Hi everyone.

I'm new here, just registered. We had, operative word, had, 10 backyard chickens. A mix of brockford and rhode island reds. 5 were 2 years old and 5 were only 4 months old. I'm assuming that a racoon got into what we thought was a well fortified fenced in coop and shed.

Without sharing the gory details, I found 3 of the older chickens had miraculously survived. That afternoon, we found 2 of the remaining 3 dead in the coop. Here are my questions, and even though they sound stupid, I am seriously asking tehm.

1. could the 2 chickens have died from fright several hours later? there were no marks on them at all.
2. my remaining chick has stopped laying eggs and seems to be lonely? is it possible and since we cant mix the new chicks we are going to get this weekend, how do i keep my poor remaining baby happy?

i have made my e mail public so that anyone with advice and suggestions can please feel free to e mail me.

thank you

stephanie

 

[easttxchick]

I would suggest finding an older bird to put with your bird that survived the predator attack. Chickens don't do well on their own and need a buddy.
As far as your other question, I really can't help you with that.
Sorry you lost so many of your birds.

 

[DTRM30]

It's possible they had internal injuries from the struggle - or possible a bite wound that didn't bleed but caused internal damage.
you can try putting a stuffed animan in with her to snuggle with at night - until you can introduce some new hens.
Those darn coons are my worst fear. They've been in my shed at night after my feed - along with the squirrels. Caught two of the buggers in there last night - they're getting in through the vent - so now need to try to rectify that problem.

Stress could cause her to stop laying.

 

[jojo@rolling acres farm]

Could they have had some sort of internal injury? Add in stress and shock and maybe the entire ordeal was just too much for them. Sorry to hear about your bad news. Fix/fortify your coop & run and start over.

 

[sourland]

Stress and overheating definitely could have caused them to die. It may be a significant period of time before the remaining hen starts laying again. She may even go into a molt before she resumes egg laying. Get a live trap. The predator will return. Sorry for your loss.

 

[luvinmychickies]

Thank you all for your suggestions.

How do I introduce another older bird? I will try the stuffed animal trick. I know the raccoon will be back so we are ready with the have-a-heart trap, even though i dont have much heart for the raccoon. the weird thing is that two of my neighbors also have chicks, we are the only ones who fortified the coop and put a roof on it, and yet the darn raccoon came after mine. we raised the chicks in my house in a puppy crate while we waited for the weather to clear so i am very attached to them. i wanted to try to bring the last one back into the house but she runs away from me and i dont want to pursue her and stress her further.