Rooster killed hens!!!!! Advice needed

[juliawitt]

I have lost two hens this week!!!! I need help!!!! 1 week ago I lost an adult hen. She was laying in the yard, she had been opened up, and the chickens were nibbling on her. She had been going through a hard molt and she was older, so my assumption was she just died. There was a part of me concerned about where I found her in the chicken yard. She was in the only open area of their pen. I had seen a hawk, but I didn't see any talon marks. Today, my husband came home and found one of my golden laced wyandotte hens dead and my two roosters were "feasting" on her!!! He killed them immediately. However, I am worried because she was in exactly the same spot at the same time of the day as the previous hen!! Now, I have no roosters to shoo away what may have predatating on them or else I had very abberant behaving roosters.

Do I have a daytime predator or did my roosters kill my hens!!! Advice please!!

 

[redhen]

I think that you have a predator...then the roos did what was natural to them and ate her...

Its very very rare for a roo to kill a hen..
then again..ya never know..

 

[annie3001]

oh sorry for such a loss,

 

[Kansaseq]

I would think you have a daytime predator. Only way to tell is to either stake it out and watch, or get a game camera. Very sorry for your loss.

 

[silkiechicken]

I doubt it was the roosters. Sounds like you have a pred, would not doubt a hawk, and then the roosters probably came to the scene to scare off the hawk who got the hen, but found a dead hen... and started eating since that is what chickens do, they are opportunistic eaters.

I've had a good number of birds knocked off by hawks, and not once did I see puncture or talon wounds. Generally they hit hard enough with blunt force to break something or knock the bird out and then start plucking feathers and meat off the bones. If the feathers weren't all plucked off yet, I bet the roos came to the scene to run off the intruder. If you could describe the crime scene more, perhaps the pred can be identified. By the sounds of the location and the open spot... it's probably a bird of prey.

 

[Sharedspirit]

So sorry you lost your girls! Do you have a have a heart trap? Sounds like maybe a racoon or possum.

 

[Nava]

sorry for your loss. I would like to know what could have killed them also.

 

[juliawitt]

I was reading the predator guide. I told my husband that we have a predator and now he thinks so too!! We have never seen foxes or weasels but they are SNEAKY, hence their names. My husband is baiting a trap, as I am typing. We just ordered netting to completely cover everything and next we will electrify. Oh yes, the game cam will go up tomorrow to help watch!!

I really did not think that a rooster would kill a hen!! I am just sick about my Sue chicken and my little GLW!! Now, my poor beautiful roosters are gone too I am so sad......we have pet chickens, that we hold and pet!! Fortunately, the girl they ate today wasn't a special favorite, but she was a good layer.........I will be devastated if I loose any more!

If we had weasels or foxes (this was a daytime act), would we see any sign?

 

[Sharedspirit]

racoons and possums will also attack in the daytime if they are hungry enough or if they are sick. We had a racoon that did that last year. We saw him come out behind the coop. We caught him in the trap quickly. I sure hope you catch the killer!

 

[Boyd]

u have a predator. roos woudn't have done as you described.