Hi There...need some help.
Last Tuesday night I wasn't feeling well and accidentally left the tractor door open. I lost Sophia, my son's BO, to something that left only feathers. Down to 1 Hen, Blache the BA.
Fast Forward to this Wednesday, after school sent my son out to let Blanche roam the backyard until bedtime. All I heard was bloody murder screaming and sobbing...my 11 year old ran back in the house "BLANCHE IS DEAD." I walked out thinking she was sick and just keeled over (although she was fine on Tuesday). She was safe and in bed the night before, my husband put her up in the nest box/roost area when he put her in at sundown. I have an A-frame tractor, fenced bottom (garden fence 2x3ish rectangles of coated wire) with roost and nest boxes enclosed on top. In the spring and summer I leave the ramp down at night for air, have done it for 2 years with NO problems so the girls always wake up in the morning and let themselves out...probably pretty early.
Here is where it gets weird. Blanche was in the bottom (fenced) part of the tractor, doors closed, missing her head and her body was pulled up against the fence and was half eaten. Breast meat gone, one leg that was sticking out the fencing was stripped clean of meat, down to the bone but foot still intact. Feathers all over the place. Found her comb, but no head or beak, at the front of the coop while her body was at the opposite end. Whatever ate her had to push its head through the fence, there are a couple of rectangles that are a little bent but the fencing was not terribly mangled. NO BLOOD. NONE...not a drop anywhere... (I took a picture which might be kind of weird but I was so perplexed.)
WHAT THE HECK ATE MY CHICKEN????
After a little more investigation tonight there look to be a few smallish claw marks, but nothing major, on the board at the bottom of the area that I found her body.
I hope someone has an idea...I am bummed. I know we have racoons, opossum, and feral cats in the hood, but we have been safe and secure for 2 years...ugh...time to step up and build a chicken fortress.
On the bright side we have 2 chicks in the bathroom brooder. We keep the little tote brooder in the bathroom. LOL
Not sure what type...so far they are looking hen-ish. One of the elementary schools in our district hatched them. I think they will be 2 weeks in a couple days, give or take a day. They are feathering out nicely, straight tail feathers, great and full wings, starting to get feathers just above the wings. One is a pale lemony yellow color and the other peachy. Feathers coming out are true to their chick fuzz.
Hope someone has ideas and hope everyone else is having better chicken luck than the Wegz family.
dwegz
Last Tuesday night I wasn't feeling well and accidentally left the tractor door open. I lost Sophia, my son's BO, to something that left only feathers. Down to 1 Hen, Blache the BA.
Fast Forward to this Wednesday, after school sent my son out to let Blanche roam the backyard until bedtime. All I heard was bloody murder screaming and sobbing...my 11 year old ran back in the house "BLANCHE IS DEAD." I walked out thinking she was sick and just keeled over (although she was fine on Tuesday). She was safe and in bed the night before, my husband put her up in the nest box/roost area when he put her in at sundown. I have an A-frame tractor, fenced bottom (garden fence 2x3ish rectangles of coated wire) with roost and nest boxes enclosed on top. In the spring and summer I leave the ramp down at night for air, have done it for 2 years with NO problems so the girls always wake up in the morning and let themselves out...probably pretty early.
Here is where it gets weird. Blanche was in the bottom (fenced) part of the tractor, doors closed, missing her head and her body was pulled up against the fence and was half eaten. Breast meat gone, one leg that was sticking out the fencing was stripped clean of meat, down to the bone but foot still intact. Feathers all over the place. Found her comb, but no head or beak, at the front of the coop while her body was at the opposite end. Whatever ate her had to push its head through the fence, there are a couple of rectangles that are a little bent but the fencing was not terribly mangled. NO BLOOD. NONE...not a drop anywhere... (I took a picture which might be kind of weird but I was so perplexed.)
WHAT THE HECK ATE MY CHICKEN????
After a little more investigation tonight there look to be a few smallish claw marks, but nothing major, on the board at the bottom of the area that I found her body.
I hope someone has an idea...I am bummed. I know we have racoons, opossum, and feral cats in the hood, but we have been safe and secure for 2 years...ugh...time to step up and build a chicken fortress.
On the bright side we have 2 chicks in the bathroom brooder. We keep the little tote brooder in the bathroom. LOL
Not sure what type...so far they are looking hen-ish. One of the elementary schools in our district hatched them. I think they will be 2 weeks in a couple days, give or take a day. They are feathering out nicely, straight tail feathers, great and full wings, starting to get feathers just above the wings. One is a pale lemony yellow color and the other peachy. Feathers coming out are true to their chick fuzz.
Hope someone has ideas and hope everyone else is having better chicken luck than the Wegz family.
dwegz