R.I.P Agnes. What killed her?

[McChooky]

What breeds are they?

Ones a short-haired mix and the others a tricolor Basset hound

 

[FrostRanger]

Unfortunately I was not home when Aggie got attacked so I never heard the rooster's warnings or her cries for help Despite me keeping chickens for 4 years I never knew that most roos won't confront a predator. I learn something new every day Their coop and run are very very predator proof, I've never had predators get into to coop or run, I've only had a predator attack outside, which was when Agnes got attacked

They sound the alarm for only the hens to hear. The warning is quiet so the predator won't hear and find where they're hiding so you wouldn't necessarily hear them. Occasionally you'll get a loud ruckus but more often then not only the hens will hear. Of course this will depend on the situation and the individual roo

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Ones a short-haired mix and the others a tricolor Basset hound

Beautiful!

 

[PimsGarden]

Do you have a pic of the dead chicken or at least could explain what it looked like? There are a lot of way to tell what attacked it. Decapitated chickens are usually the work of a raccoon. I often see plucked chickens when it's a hawk or BOP and you can see where it tears into it with the beak. Weasels leave small incisions and suck out the blood. Foxes and esp dogs will kill many birds and not even eat the majority of them. Oh and a common misconception is that a hawk can fly off with your birds, that is typically untrue cause they can only take off with 1/3 of their weight so it would need to be a baby bird or bantam or something like that. Hope this helps.

 

[McChooky]

Beautiful!

Thank you very much!

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Do you have a pic of the dead chicken or at least could explain what it looked like? There are a lot of way to tell what attacked it. Decapitated chickens are usually the work of a raccoon. I often see plucked chickens when it's a hawk or BOP and you can see where it tears into it with the beak. Weasels leave small incisions and suck out the blood. Foxes and esp dogs will kill many birds and not even eat the majority of them. Oh and a common misconception is that a hawk can fly off with your birds, that is typically untrue cause they can only take off with 1/3 of their weight so it would need to be a baby bird or bantam or something like that. Hope this helps.

Her body was completely missing, only a pile of her feathers left at the edge of the woods. I found a tiny piece of what seemed to be flesh attached to feathers. There was the tiniest bit of blood on a feather or two. But other than that, no other clues.

 

[McChooky]

Force it to go hungry or hunt someplace else. Lock your chickens up a while and increase security.

 

[Lema]

Agnes just died yesterday. This was a complete surprise. This morning when the chickens were let out, I later realized that Agnes was not there. And she is NOT the type to go wandering around the yard by herself. She usually stays with at least one chicken. We were very puzzled and looked around the entire yard. That's when we found a giant pile of white feathers A predator had gotten to her. I live in a rural area and this is surprisingly the very first time that a predator has killed one of my chickens. My friend lives in the city and they have had predators kill their chickens time and time again.
Agnes was the absolute best girl and was one of most friendliest chickens out of our 13 (now 12) chickens.
View attachment 3963813
So, I was curious about what this predator could be that got her. There were feathers 5 feet from where the main pile was so do you think it was a ground predator that attacked her and dragged her away, or do you think it was an aerial predator? And how could I limit these predators and keep them away from my chickens? Despite me having two roos, they did nothing to save Agnes's life. Although, she could have been isolated from the flock, or the entire flock saw the predator and then ran for cover including the roosters. Once when a hawk was attacking one of my hens, Winnie, the roos were right there and did nothing (maybe they didn't see her?) So we took immediate action and chased the hawk away.
So anyway, here are ALL of the predators that I have either seen or heard in my yard:
Aerial:
Owls, hawks, turkey vultures (they wouldn't attack chickens I don't think), definitely other birds of prey.

Ground predators:
Coyotes, foxes, skunks, neighbor's cats, racoons, opposums, and probably weasels and mink but they would just kill her and suck the blood and leave her body.

I know that she was attacked during the day, not at night because she always went to bed or was in the nesting box at least. So It couldn't have been any of those nocturnal animals. Oh, and none of my other chickens are harmed. That right there shows me that the roosters didn't protect Agnes. No blood on combs, wattles, nothing like that.

Thanks so much! Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[Lema]

Agnes just died yesterday. This was a complete surprise. This morning when the chickens were let out, I later realized that Agnes was not there. And she is NOT the type to go wandering around the yard by herself. She usually stays with at least one chicken. We were very puzzled and looked around the entire yard. That's when we found a giant pile of white feathers A predator had gotten to her. I live in a rural area and this is surprisingly the very first time that a predator has killed one of my chickens. My friend lives in the city and they have had predators kill their chickens time and time again.
Agnes was the absolute best girl and was one of most friendliest chickens out of our 13 (now 12) chickens.
View attachment 3963813
So, I was curious about what this predator could be that got her. There were feathers 5 feet from where the main pile was so do you think it was a ground predator that attacked her and dragged her away, or do you think it was an aerial predator? And how could I limit these predators and keep them away from my chickens? Despite me having two roos, they did nothing to save Agnes's life. Although, she could have been isolated from the flock, or the entire flock saw the predator and then ran for cover including the roosters. Once when a hawk was attacking one of my hens, Winnie, the roos were right there and did nothing (maybe they didn't see her?) So we took immediate action and chased the hawk away.
So anyway, here are ALL of the predators that I have either seen or heard in my yard:
Aerial:
Owls, hawks, turkey vultures (they wouldn't attack chickens I don't think), definitely other birds of prey.

Ground predators:
Coyotes, foxes, skunks, neighbor's cats, racoons, opposums, and probably weasels and mink but they would just kill her and suck the blood and leave her body.

I know that she was attacked during the day, not at night because she always went to bed or was in the nesting box at least. So It couldn't have been any of those nocturnal animals. Oh, and none of my other chickens are harmed. That right there shows me that the roosters didn't protect Agnes. No blood on combs, wattles, nothing like that.

Thanks so much! Feel free to ask any questions.

Hi, your post drew my attention: I empathise - Just yesterday here in Australia, I lost my beloved Agatha 'Aggie' to a wedgetail eagle. I too found a pile of feathers beneath a tree. My girls free range and Charlie the rooster was too far away to alert her. She was raised from a day old egg I bought and was Aunty to my next generation. She would come in the house for corn kernels to comp feed if the others wouldn't share. She was a silver spangled Hamburg. Today the same eagle is on the hunt but they are protected here. My coop needs fence heightening to stop the girls from flying over too early in the day even with wings clipped. The days eagle is around I can then keep them in then. There's crows around but when big fella's here, they clear out. That's life in the country.....

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Hi, your post drew my attention: I empathise - Just yesterday here in Australia, I lost my beloved Agatha 'Aggie' to a wedgetail eagle. I too found a pile of feathers beneath a tree. My girls free range and Charlie the rooster was too far away to alert her. She was raised from a day old egg I bought and was Aunty to my next generation. She would come in the house for corn kernels to comp feed if the others wouldn't share. She was a silver spangled Hamburg. Today the same eagle is on the hunt but they are protected here. My coop needs fence heightening to stop the girls from flying over too early in the day even with wings clipped. The days eagle is around I can then keep them in then. There's crows around but when big fella's here, they clear out. That's life in the country.....

Our stories are very similar! Holy cow I just researched a wedgetail eagle on google!! The size is nuts!! That thing could probably put a hurting on me. Rest in peace Agatha She sounded like a great girl I hope your flock stays safe!!