Something killed my Araucana last night :(

[kidsnchix]

We found my full grown Araucana dead this morning in the pen. Her back end was grossly mutilated.

Our chickens are in a fully fenced coop unless we are outside with them. They have an enclosed nest area and the chicken wire is buried to keep critters from digging under.

But something happened anyway. There are no signs of damage to the fence so it doesn't appear that anything got into the fenced area - and the rest of the girls are just fine.

Could something get it's paws through the chicken wire to mutilate her so badly?

 

[ChooksChick]

YES.

My neighbor had this happen when a raccoon got its hands into the caging of his tractor- he originally used chicken wire, but changed it to welded wire (hardware cloth) with 1/2" holes. That stops the reaching.

Can you give them a fully enclosed coop area so they can sleep in peace and safety?

We have a full wooden coop with a pop-door that they only go into at night. It only seems like wasted space until you lose a bird...

 

[kidsnchix]

Their roost area is enclosed on three sides (and top) with the open side facing the middle of the fenced area. So they are fairly protected while roosting.

Raccoon makes sense. Their feeder is next to the fence so it is very possible when she came down to feed this morning when the light came on (5:30ish) the coon could have grabbed her through the fence.

We'll reinforce the chicken wire and move the feeder! Today!

 

[Ridgerunner]

A raccoon, fox, dog will destroy chicken wire. You need something stronger like hardware cloth or welded wire fencing to stop them. The chicken wire is good to line the bottom 2 or 3 feet of the run to stop the chicken from poking its head through the wire where a predator can get to it.

With the wire not damaged and that type of wound, I'd suspect a possum got into the run, maybe by climbing.

I promise. I was typing when Teacher posted.

 

[KrisRose]

Quote:
By "back end" do you mean the vent area??
If so then you should also consider the possibility that the other hens attacked her. She could have prolapsed.

 

[kidsnchix]

Teacher - the pen does have a top on it. The pen is under what used to be a treehouse so the top is the wooden platform. Nothing can get in from the top.

KrisRose - we didn't think of the other hens. I do mean her vent but it was quite severe.

Upon investigating more this morning, we found some hair but of course it is difficult to determine what kind of animal it came from. It's also rained very hard this morning so any evidence around the pen has been washed away.

My poor kids are sad. Her name was Lola

 

[KrisRose]

So sorry over the loss of Lola

.

 

[kidsnchix]

Quote:
Exactly