lehouseofdog
Chirping
I lost a hen this morning. She was my 8 month old speckled sussex hen. Beautiful little bird, very sweet disposition. Anyway, I found her at 10am and am trying to work back to TOD and probable cause to figure out how I can proceed with management.
I am not sure how anyone feels about graphic photos so if they aren't allowed, please tell me to take them down. I will post them at the end of this
I found her on the far side of the yard. I heard my oldest hen alarm clucking and let the dogs out and my little pit bull ran straight to her carcass. I told her to leave it and she ran back to me. It was then that I realized it was my SS pepper. I looked her over, she was stiff but still had some body heat. The blood appeared wet. The skin was torn off her neck and her crop was gone. There was fresh seed stuck to her neck muscles so she had been out and eating that morning. The skin was completely gone around her neck and part of her chest with no remnants. There were feathers everywhere. That type of predation reminds me of possum or raccoon (going for the crop) but the time of day is wrong.
I let the dogs out for the first time around 6 or 7 am but did not check on the birds as I haven't been feeling well this weekend. My husband let the dogs out at 8 and fed them. My two pit bulls jumped on the bed. The female laid in the dog bed and started dry heaving. I put her back outside, then let her back in and put her in the crate and took a shower. I didn't notice anything amiss with her, she's white and wears a sweater. She was clean, no blood (but the dry heaving is concerning)
My dogs ages are 7, 8 and 11 and have never bothered the chickens. The 7 year old is the one that dry heaved.
I have an automatic chicken door that opens between 530 and 6am and closes at night around 730 pm. I don't think something got her right as it opened this morning because I think she would have been stone cold, not still with warmth. It also rained yesterday and misting last night and she was dry and fluffy.
I feel like if the dog did it, I would have had to call her off the carcass and my husband would have had to as well. She wouldn't have been waiting at the back door to come in.
Would a hawk kill look like this? I have been blissfully predator free since getting chickens so this is my first predator loss and I'm really worried. That means they will be back right? unless it was my own dog. My little white dog, the youngest does have high prey drive and did not act like there was a raccoon or possum in the yard. She has caught 2 before but has never killed anything. When they play dead she looses interest and I can pick them up and put them out of the yard so they can warn others. It has been 2 years since I've seen a possum in the yard, I have security lights that keep the yard fairly well lit. I have a 8 foot fence and live in a suburban environment.
I am not sure how anyone feels about graphic photos so if they aren't allowed, please tell me to take them down. I will post them at the end of this
I found her on the far side of the yard. I heard my oldest hen alarm clucking and let the dogs out and my little pit bull ran straight to her carcass. I told her to leave it and she ran back to me. It was then that I realized it was my SS pepper. I looked her over, she was stiff but still had some body heat. The blood appeared wet. The skin was torn off her neck and her crop was gone. There was fresh seed stuck to her neck muscles so she had been out and eating that morning. The skin was completely gone around her neck and part of her chest with no remnants. There were feathers everywhere. That type of predation reminds me of possum or raccoon (going for the crop) but the time of day is wrong.
I let the dogs out for the first time around 6 or 7 am but did not check on the birds as I haven't been feeling well this weekend. My husband let the dogs out at 8 and fed them. My two pit bulls jumped on the bed. The female laid in the dog bed and started dry heaving. I put her back outside, then let her back in and put her in the crate and took a shower. I didn't notice anything amiss with her, she's white and wears a sweater. She was clean, no blood (but the dry heaving is concerning)
My dogs ages are 7, 8 and 11 and have never bothered the chickens. The 7 year old is the one that dry heaved.
I have an automatic chicken door that opens between 530 and 6am and closes at night around 730 pm. I don't think something got her right as it opened this morning because I think she would have been stone cold, not still with warmth. It also rained yesterday and misting last night and she was dry and fluffy.
I feel like if the dog did it, I would have had to call her off the carcass and my husband would have had to as well. She wouldn't have been waiting at the back door to come in.
Would a hawk kill look like this? I have been blissfully predator free since getting chickens so this is my first predator loss and I'm really worried. That means they will be back right? unless it was my own dog. My little white dog, the youngest does have high prey drive and did not act like there was a raccoon or possum in the yard. She has caught 2 before but has never killed anything. When they play dead she looses interest and I can pick them up and put them out of the yard so they can warn others. It has been 2 years since I've seen a possum in the yard, I have security lights that keep the yard fairly well lit. I have a 8 foot fence and live in a suburban environment.
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