What happened?? Missing hen, injured hen and guts!!

[kassandra09]

This morning one of my silkies has gone missing and the other silkie is injured (See photo).

The weird part is that in a corner of the run I found entrails. Just lots of guts and some big organ, its almost the size of my palm. The chickens were all pecking at it... what could this be??? What happened??

There is no carcass anywhere, no beak or wing etc so I think my missing silkie may have escaped. They have a semi free ranging area during the day that is accessed through an automatic door opener that closes at sunset. The area behind the door is fully predator proofed, no way something could've got in.

I think the injured silkie was bullied by the rest of the flock, there are feathers everywhere and they are from her, not the missing silkie who is a different color. But I guess I cant be sure. Ive isolated her and have cleaned the wound, applied wound spray and a bunch of silver honey. Will she survive this?

Im so distraught. Ive only had these two silkies for a few months im just really confused as to what could've happened and whose guts these are...

On another note, a wild turkey had been living on my property for the past 3 weeks. Like clockwork she'd show up morning and evening for meal worms and she'd spend all day wandering our property. She didn't show up last night or this morning... I named her Petunia. So now I feel like I've lost two birds in one day

 

[Rose Quartz]

I'm sorry to say your other silky is dead. the large organ is a gizzard. From the injuries the most likely culprit is racoons. Your injured silky could survive this injury. It looks pretty deep but in time the skin can grow back.

 

[kassandra09]

I'm sorry to say your other silky is dead. the large organ is a gizzard. From the injuries the most likely culprit is racoons. Your injured silky could survive this injury. It looks pretty deep but in time the skin can grow back.

Do you think those entrails are from the missing silkie? Why would that be left behind and not anything else like a carcass or feathers?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Do you think those entrails are from the missing silkie? Why would that be left behind and not anything else like a carcass or feathers?

Cats do this type of thing, sometimes they gut their pray, eating certain internal organs, & leaving the rest before taking the carcass with them. So probably a large cat, or Bob Cat got it's self some chicken dinner.

 

[kassandra09]

Cats do this type of thing, sometimes they gut their pray, eating certain internal organs, & leaving the rest before taking the carcass with them. So probably a large cat, or Bob Cat got it's self some chicken dinner.

Im heartbroken there are no bobcats and ive never seen raccoons either but we definitely have weasels, Hawks and stray cats. I think you must be right.

Is there anything I can do for my injured silkie? She must be in so much pain..

 

[MysteryChicken]

Im heartbroken there are no bobcats and ive never seen raccoons either but we definitely have weasels, Hawks and stray cats. I think you must be right.

Is there anything I can do for my injured silkie? She must be in so much pain..

The injury is not too bad really, just clean it, & apply Triple Antibiotic Ointment(None Pain Relieving) to it 2-3 times a day to keep it moist?

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you see if the wound is open in the abdomen or vent? I would wonder if these organs are from the injured one? If you can examine her that would help. If these are her organs, she should be put down. If not, then clean her wounds twice daily with saline or a wound spray, and keep from drying out with antibiotic ointment or manuka/medi honey. Did you check to see that the chickens were all in at dusk?

What type of floor is there, and are there any places something could get in through a small hole?

Saline is 2 tsp salt dissolved in 1 liter or quart of water, brought to a boil, simmer on low for 15 minutes to sterilize, and cool. Store in clean jar or container.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Petunia is probably fine. Wild turkeys can fly and are very adept at avoiding predators. Where are you located? I’ve never seen the bobcat that lives behind my barn but I’ve heard it and seen in on a trail cam. Most predators aren’t likely to make themselves known.

 

[kassandra09]

Im in Cumberland Ontario

Petunia is probably fine. Wild turkeys can fly and are very adept at avoiding predators. Where are you located? I’ve never seen the bobcat that lives behind my barn but I’ve heard it and seen in on a trail cam. Most predators aren’t likely to make themselves

 

[kassandra09]

Can you see if the wound is open in the abdomen or vent? I would wonder if these organs are from the injured one? If you can examine her that would help. If these are her organs, she should be put down. If not, then clean her wounds twice daily with saline or a wound spray, and keep from drying out with antibiotic ointment or manuka/medi honey. Did you check to see that the chickens were all in at dusk?

What type of floor is there, and are there any places something could get in through a small hole?

Saline is 2 tsp salt dissolved in 1 liter or quart of water, brought to a boil, simmer on low for 15 minutes to sterilize, and cool. Store in clean jar or container.

I throughly checked her and the only injury is the gash on her back. Vent, belly and everywhere else is thankfully fine. I will do that thank you.

The coop and run are completely predator proof, we dug out the ground and put wire mesh before building on it and there's solid wire all around with a solid roof, no holes at all. The problem is that we added on to the run to give them a larger outdoor area on the grass using a horse round pen and regular chicken mesh but its really quite open. The run connects to the round pen from an automatic door so they are only able to go out there between sunrise and sunset.

This attack would've taken place before sunset, with a predator getting into the round pen and then into the run to grab the silkie

We have closed their door for now so they cant go out there and we will work on fully predator proofing it before letting them go back out.

I was naive in thinking attacks were a night time thing and that they'd be okay during the day. This is my first loss in a year of chicken ownership.