The Old Folks Home

[hennible]

Sorry vehve, pretty sure I lost one to a hawk a day ago... No body, not a feather left....

Peep_show, I've got I serious case of coop envy, I love it...

 

[Bunnylady]

Oh, no! Vehve, I'm sorry to hear about your hens, that's really a shame.

Hope you can figure out a way to keep it from happening again; hawks can be really persistent when they stake out a coop.

 

[vehve]

Yeah, they're not getting into the coop or run, that's pretty much secure from any predators we might have, but lately those two girls had taken to wandering a bit further from our yard when they're free ranging. Apparently they had gone to the front of the house, where it's more open.

 

[vehve]

After looking at a photo I took in the dark of the carcass, I think it's actually Veera than was mauled. That would leave some hope for Viiru. Veeras feathering was mostly white, making her an easy mark. Viiru is our flightiest and gamiest bird, and her feathering is mainly different shades of brown, so she could go to ground better. I thought I was looking for Veera out there, she would have been easy to spot. But Viiru could still be hiding somewhere. Hopefully she'll come back home today or tomorrow. Probably false hope, but that's better than nothing.

 

[Bunnylady]

I hope you are right. In my experience, hawks tend to take only one bird at a time. During one period a few years back, I lost two black Minorcas, two Barred Rocks, and an Ameraucana to a hawk. I found the body of one of the Barred Rocks under a log where (I assume) it took shelter, and the hawk followed it - I've never heard about hawks dragging things into hiding places on the ground.

I had an owl stake out a run where I had some bantam Cochins at one time, too. I was occupied with a new baby (BB2K) and my husband was helping with the feeding; he didn't even know any were missing until I noticed and pointed it out. When the weather was warm, some of the birds were roosting on top of the coop at night; the ones that were disappearing were the lighter colors.

 

[vehve]

Here's a picture, I'll post it with the spoiler tag since not everyone wants to see this. Any thoughts on what it was? My guess is, as stated earlier, a hawk.

 

[hennible]

Is that an egg yoke? Ok my apologies because this was your bird but that's sort of neat.
I can't see it well enough to see much detail... But I have seen dogs rip a bird up like that... I thought hawks took their pray to a safe location to eat...

 

[vehve]

We don't have that big hawks, and this bird weighs probably 3 lbs, so I think it just fed on the spot. But it could have also been something else of course. Yeah, it was an intact egg yolk. I should have taken a clearer picture, but I wanted to clear it away pretty quickly so the neighbor's kids wouldn't have to see it any more than they already had.

 

[Peep_Show]

Oh, such sadness, Vehve. It's tragic. I'm so sorry for your loss.

Analyzing the forensics of the picture, the bird was originally below the mass of feathers (see the bare spot about the shape and size of the chicken) and then was moved slightly to the left out of the mess for dining. I'd guess dog (as I have no idea what the wildlife is in Finland)....which means your other bird may still be alive, scared out of her wits and hiding someplace.

I don't think hawks or owls would do so much plucking...those look to be gobs (large mouthfuls) of feathers.

 

[vehve]

Well, some good news, Veera just showed up. I been checking the yard every 15 minutes, and Veera was standing in front of the coop, looking unharmed, waiting to get inside. But that means we just lost our most productive layer, Viiru. I don't think a dog would have gotten her though, but it does look a bit like it was a dog. The head was plucked clean. A dog would actually be good news, because that means the yard would still be safe, as long as I get the chickens to stay inside the fence. It could have been the neighbors dog, because the chickens had apparently ventured in front of their house. She is a bit slow though, so I don't see how she would have caught Viiru, who was an excellent flier. But I guess we will never learn what it was. I might have to go check on the neighbors dog though, she might need some antacids after eating a whole chicken, poor thing. If it really was her. But I'm happy Veera is home safe.