Was this a hawk or???? Very graphic dead chickie pics. :(

[luvmychicknkids]

My mother is "babysitting" 5 chicks, almost 4 months old, for me until I feel they are big enough to mix with my grown girls. Yesterday I went to her house after I picked my kids up from school and found one dead. My mother had left her house about 12:00 and I got there at 3:20 or so which means it happened between those hours...so middle of the day. Her head was gone and she was ripped open. One thing I found strange was a large pile of her feathers about 4' from her body....meaning she was moved. None of the other chickens were harmed....the other 4 her size or any of my mom's grown chickens separated by only a fence. Just wondering if there are any guesses what happened. I think hawk...whatever it was went inside a 6' chain link fence in broad daylight. Here are a couple of pics. The first one showing the condition of the body and the second showing the distance from the body to the pile of feathers.

Her name was Latte, BTW. She was a wonderful little girl One of the first babies I ever hatched and I miss her terribly. She has a twin (same parents and look identical) named Mocha who is feeling just lost without her.

Those two were inseparable.

 

[daddyssteeler]

dog?

 

[FloridaChickenChick]

Looks very much like what a hawk did to one of my birds except left the head.

Sorry you had to find this.

(And I LOVE the names. Hope you find another Latte soon)

 

[luvmychicknkids]

Well, dog was my first thought because the neighbors dogs were running loose, but there is really no way for them to get in. I looked everywhere...mom has it pretty secure and I just can't see them getting in then out and I think they would have killed them all.

With her, the head was completely gone, no trace of it.

Thanks. I have eggs from her mother in the bator right now. Maybe I WILL have a Latte 2.

 

[AngieChick]

Maybe, but when I have seen hawks eat birds they don't leave much, especially not the entrails (yuck, sorry). But then, it could be a hawk that was scared off by something while eating.

Sorry, not much help here. I'm sorry about your chickie.

 

[DuckLady]

I agree that it looks like a hawk that got interrupted. Sorry for your loss.

 

[luvmychicknkids]

I know this is going to sound a bit strange, but she has cats that actually protect the chickens. Perhaps one of the cats heard the commotion and scared it off. I was pretty sure it had to be a hawk and she has quite a few out there.

She is going to try hanging CD's in trees. Has anyone actually tried that and had any luck with it?