Plz Help Before I Loose Another One!!!!!! 911!!! Pic

[Keni*Sue]

i HAD 2 beautiful black cochin chicks that i hatched that were about a 1 1/2 months old and 1 black Jersey Giant hen that i bought, not hatched, that was about the same age as the two cochins. i lost one of the cochins last week and then i lost the other one today

i found both of them with their legs extended and the looked like someone coated them with vasaline from their beaks to their necks and had ants on them (although im sure the ants were attracted to them bc they were dead)... i dont know what is doing this!!! i thought it was a snake and i moved them and the cage i moved them to a snake couldnt get into. DOES ANYBODY HAVE A CLUE WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BABIES??? could the JG chick have done this to them?

SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!!!!

 

[allison finch]

Looks like a snake to me. It has attempted to swallow it only to find it too big. It regurged it leaving the mucous coating.

So sorry. I love snakes and have had over a hundred of them over the years. If I were able to catch that one and relocate it, I would. Otherwise, I understand why you might have to kill it.
Good luck.

 

[Keni*Sue]

Quote:
i thought that as well but theres ABSOLUTELY no way a snake could have gotten to them

 

[allison finch]

Don't believe it!!
I have seen adult snakes squeeze through spaces my finger wouldn't fit in. They have an amazing ability to squeeze through small places. Ask anyone who has kept them. Look for any opening that a small mouse could get through. A snake could do it, too.

 

[Keni*Sue]

Quote:
i have a 8 foot python now and i know how they can munipulate their bodies but the snake could not have been any bigger that a centimeter

 

[welovechickens]

I once caught a 3-foot rat snake observing my chickens at night, and used 1/2-inch hardware cloth as a lid on the container. The snake put its head through the hardware cloth quick as a wink, and its head was bigger around than my thumb!!! They can squeeze through incredibly tiny holes.

It does look like something tried to swallow the chicks and didn't succeed....I'm sorry you lost them.

 

[Keni*Sue]

ok im humbled and i dont want to but i will accept that a snake might have gotten in ther... although i just dont know how...

 

[ruth]

I'd also be willing to bet it was a snake. We caught one tonight in our coop - luckily before it did any harm to the newly hatched baby chicks running around.

After you lost the first chick did you move the whole cage to a new location or did you switch cages and leave it in the same place? What makes you say a snake absolutely couldn't have gotten to them? Are they inside the house? What type of cage are they in? Where is the cage located? If you look around, you might solve the mystery of how the snake is getting to them.

 

[threehorses]

I don't have much advice, but I just have condolences and hugs. Plenty of both coming your way. I'm so very sorry.