Warning! Chickens died in pvc feeder!

[RJSorensen]

WOW! I would have never believed it. Sorry for your loss… but thank you for posting this. You are most likely saving the life of more than a few birds to the same fate. Most things don't effect me, stuff happens every day, but this stunned me. I suppose they smothered and that is an unpleasant way to go.

Thank you again for the kind heads up to the greater BYC community,

RJ

 

[judie928]

I'm so sorry to hear about your chickens. Is it possible to post a photo of the feeder they got caught in? I don't know what it looks like.

 

[RJSorensen]

It is back on page two, post 16, and then again further on. A very sad deal to say the least.

RJ

 

[tracecom]

I built a bucket feeder using 2" elbows. At five weeks, my chicks are too large to get more than their head through the 2" hole. When they are full grown, I may have to build another one with 3" elbows.

Thanks for the warning.

 

[CherMoz]

So sorry for your loss. Thank you for spreading the word.

 

[tcstoehr]

I have to say I'm not entirely convinced these chickens crawled in there by themselves. If this had happened on my setup, which is pretty similar, I would be wondering if a rat, weasel or some other varmit had gotten in there, killed two chickens, and was caching them in a safe location for later. I know it doesn't sound likely, but nothing really does at this point. When our chickens get killed, it's not always clear what happened. I would definitely alter my feeder for sure, but I would still be left wondering if I really knew what was going on.

 

[lm84]

I agree that you never know what could have really happened, but the chickens were fully intact, no feathers missing, and the coop is brand new and fully predator proofed. There are no gaps anywhere at the doors and windows are all covered with 1/2 hardware cloth with screws and fender washers. Not to mention the pvc pipe has a cap on the top to block stuff from getting in through the top, and the chickens were stuffed in so hard we had to take the bottom off to pull them out, with some force. Nothing could have pulled them in that tight without being able to get out through the capped end or the predator itself would have also been stuck in there as well.

 

[tracecom]

I agree that you never know what could have really happened, but the chickens were fully intact, no feathers missing, and the coop is brand new and fully predator proofed. There are no gaps anywhere at the doors and windows are all covered with 1/2 hardware cloth with screws and fender washers. Not to mention the pvc pipe has a cap on the top to block stuff from getting in through the top, and the chickens were stuffed in so hard we had to take the bottom off to pull them out, with some force. Nothing could have pulled them in that tight without being able to get out through the capped end or the predator itself would have also been stuck in there as well.

I hate to suggest it, but could someone have done it? Angry neighbor, malicious teenager, etc.

 

[VinFin]

From what I know of chickens, if they can find a way to hurt themselves that seems impossible, they do. Been raising chickens 50 years plus. Started helping Grandma with her 100 RIR each spring.

 

[lm84]

No, I don't think so. We live on over 4 acres and our home is back off the road almost 1/4 mile. We have no neighbors close enough to hear, see or smell chickens and no one would even know they were there unless they drove up and walked to the backyard on purpose. The feeder was inside the closed coop, nothing else was touched or messed with and they were perfectly stuffed up into the tube as if they had wiggled up little by little. Not to mention everyone was fine the evening before and we had been home the whole time.