Second hen dead in two days

mylivingwaters

In the Brooder
5 Years
Jul 6, 2014
11
0
22
Hi,
I am new to chicken keeping.
I started out over a month ago with 6 chickens who were saved from battery cages.
They live in a 6x2 meter run and are allowed to roam the yard occasionally.

Yesterday we came home to find a dead chicken in the yard who had somehow escape and automatically assumed it was our dog who got them (we have a husky puppy and although he doesn't particularly mind them, if they panick he does love to chase them and is a great hunter).
Today in the afternoon we found another corpse but this time inside the coop. Upon closer inspection we found a wound in her backside.

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It couldn't be our dog and the wound is clean with no visible parasites.
Any idea what could do this?

We live in the desert with coyotes and foxes but neither get into our yard because of the dog.

Thanks in advance,
Maayan
 
You picture doesn't seem to be there could you try again? Just a thought it's possible another chicken inflicted the wound... Maybe even after the other died. Also good for people to know is the age of your hens.
 
Holy cow. Well I don't think that's from another chicken maybe it is but I'd say some sort of predator that's to small to drag the kills away. The wound, how big and how deep? Any bite marks any where? Or other damage like broken bones?
 
The wound was about 3cm wide and maybe 6 deep at its deepest, no bite marks. No other damage.

I'm wondering if it could be cats? Our street is infested with them and they hang around the coop (they actually hide there when the dog chases them).
 
Totally possible. Lots of people have had cat issues on the forum. You may need to work on predator or cat proofing some how. That said what about prey birds? Doesn't fit as well because of the chicken dead in the coop though...
 
The coop is covered from the top so it couldn't be a prey bird. Funny, the chickens are leghorns and everyone I know has them says cats don't touch them.
I will think of a way to cat proof it. Thanks so much for the help.
 

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