Predator?

[americanchicks]

Sounds like a opossum to me. I had one attack in the afternoon. It tore a large gash in a hens neck, luckily it didn't tear the crop (she survived). That night we caught it dragging one of my hens out of the coop by the leg. My hubby killed it with a mag light. I read that opossums are not the most efficient hunters and will end up injuring birds a lot of times. good luck

 

[TheLittleFarm18]

You say they hang around the goat pen....is there a stray nail sticking out of a piece of wood some where or maybe sheet metal bent so it's super sharp? I'd look high and low in the areas they hang out and make sure it's not something in their environment

 

[TennesseeFarm]

A predator will come back day after day, hang around your chickens for a day with a shotgun.

 

[aart]

@IslaBean how is she doing?
Any updated pics of stitched wound?
That is one nasty cut, you may never know how it happened.

 

[IslaBean]

Sounds like a opossum to me. I had one attack in the afternoon. It tore a large gash in a hens neck, luckily it didn't tear the crop (she survived). That night we caught it dragging one of my hens out of the coop by the leg. My hubby killed it with a mag light. I read that opossums are not the most efficient hunters and will end up injuring birds a lot of times. good luck

Thanks we have a lot of those in the area. We’ve had live traps set out, but haven’t caught one yet.

 

[IslaBean]

You say they hang around the goat pen....is there a stray nail sticking out of a piece of wood some where or maybe sheet metal bent so it's super sharp? I'd look high and low in the areas they hang out and make sure it's not something in their environment

I’ll look around, but I don’t think there’s anything.

 

[IslaBean]

@IslaBean how is she doing?
Any updated pics of stitched wound?
That is one nasty cut, you may never know how it happened.

She’s doing very well the stitches are healed up. She’s eating completely fine. Right now she’s trying to find her way back into the pecking order, she’s been loosing a lot of feathers over it.

 

[TheLittleFarm18]

She’s doing very well the stitches are healed up. She’s eating completely fine. Right now she’s trying to find her way back into the pecking order, she’s been loosing a lot of feathers over it.

Glad to hear she's doing so well!!!

 

[aart]

She’s doing very well the stitches are healed up. She’s eating completely fine. Right now she’s trying to find her way back into the pecking order, she’s been loosing a lot of feathers over it.

Good, glad to hear it!
Did they put dissolving stitches or will you have to remove them?
She may be molting due to the trauma stress...and well, it is molting season

 

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

I am not sure we’re tou are but for sure it would be something smaller than a cat because it would have to reach the chickens head but at the same time if it was bigger that a cat it would mean it would have killed the chickens by now. Unless it’s just toying with them...........