Something ate one of my coturnix hens.

[TedJan92_in_Idaho]

I have a trap that I made here somewhere and the opening is the size of a quarter. Only thing I have caught in it is 2 weasels

 

[mhwc56]

i was finding some of my Coturnix hens that had been badly chewed up a few months ago.They were being eaten on either side of their tail areas and if not caught soon enough ,they would ,of course , bleed to death . It seemed they would just sit there and let it happen to them!.It took me a while but i figured out who was doing what and she went to freezer camp.Since then there has been no problems thank goodness!

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
SO MUCH FOR THE 0.34% VS 99.66%



COTURNIX CAN AND WILL TURN CANNAMALISTIC RATHER QUICKLY IF THEIR DIET IS SUFFICIENTLY LACKING IN USEABLE PROTIEN OR AMINO ACIDS. OFTEN TIMES ITS AS SIMPLE AS A PIN FEATHER THAT GETS BROKEN AND BLEEDS... ATTRACTS ATTENTION AND THEN ITS GAME ON. REMEMBER THE OP HAS ALREADY STATED EGG EATING~ ANOTHER FORM OF CANABALISM

 

[Fat Daddy]

When a rat makes its way into a quail pen, the first thing he does is eat the GBS... When that is gone the next best thing is the gbs in the crop of the quail in the pen.... A rat would not get to the crop via the hind-end. There for, if the crop of the dead bird is still intact, A rat would not be the logical perpetrator....

 

[Eyeheartquail]

Quote:

 

[The Critter Place]

Rats and mice can be down right disgusting animals!
Having worked around them for years, I've seen many a case where they will eat babies and cage mates for no reason, and had plenty of proper diet and water.

So I wouldn't put it past them to pass on the GBS and go for the quail.

 

[Grey and green feathers]

Quote:
ive kept many rats as pets and they go EVERYWHERE... besides they can chew through concrete. ive seen it. if the winter has been so-so and it suddenly gets harsher, rodents flood homes and eat whatever they can find. my cage was full when an unfortunate female "layed" some of her reproductive tract and died. no guts were eaten, despite having been there at least 12 hours between morning feeding and night feeding.

 

[joe125]

Quote:
SO MUCH FOR THE 0.34% VS 99.66%



COTURNIX CAN AND WILL TURN CANNAMALISTIC RATHER QUICKLY IF THEIR DIET IS SUFFICIENTLY LACKING IN USEABLE PROTIEN OR AMINO ACIDS. OFTEN TIMES ITS AS SIMPLE AS A PIN FEATHER THAT GETS BROKEN AND BLEEDS... ATTRACTS ATTENTION AND THEN ITS GAME ON. REMEMBER THE OP HAS ALREADY STATED EGG EATING~ ANOTHER FORM OF CANABALISM

Well, I stand corrected. I have had a few psycho hens that will go off on her pen mates that she has been with since hatch. They tend to do the normal, head pecking, crop pecking, which is to kill, not consume the pen mates. My solution was the same.

A $2 rat trap or some of that sticky paper deployed shouldn't hurt. I would think.

 

[joe125]

Quote:
I tend to agree. Rats are not generally predators, but opportunistic feeders. The feed is the #1 target, #2 would be the eggs. #3 would be what ever else was left, like a dead bird that boinked it's self to death during the incursion. I agree that they would most likely start at the crop for the feed, but it's possible there was an egg near the southern region.

Personally, I would set some traps, just to cover a second base.

 

[emvickrey]

My first experience with chickens was also a serious learning experience. I aquired the chickens from somebody that didn't feed them half the time and they had already turned into cannibals. I thought if they never ran out of food they would stop. WRONG!! I was constantly having to put chickens down because I would find holes in them. I finally found the culprits of the deed. It was the little tiny chickens. They would follow the bigger chickens around and peck at their vents and get under their wings and peck holes in them. Basically slowly eating them alive.

My recent experience is with bob whites. I thought they where attacked till I saw one of the hens pecking at the foot of the roo. She had already eaten around the other hens ankles and she couldn't stand. I was told it was because of a lack of protein, too small living quarters and I needed to clip the beak of the culprit. The roo is healed and the hen is healing. She can now stand but it's still painful. She gets treated everyday. I just hope there is no permanent damage. Time will tell.

So, i'm with the others. Cannibalism. Read up on how to trim the beak, if you can provide a larger living space I would say it would be a plus and I started feeding mine some scrambled eggs. The real test will be when the other 2 return to the cage with her.