What killed my chicken?

[LLL]

Greetings and welcome to BYC! So glad you joined us even if the reason is a sad one. So sorry you lost one of the pair your mom had. There are so many predators that like chicken dinners. Any time you allow them to "free range" (not protected inside an enclosure), there's always that chance. Chickens are flock animals and really do best with a companion (or more). I'd recommend an adult bird since the situation leads me to believe more than 2 birds wouldn't be wanted.

There's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of threads. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home!

Oh, if you haven't done so already, PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. Old folks like me will never remember from this thread. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes. Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!

 

[LLL]

Thank you so much for the warm welcome. It really helps I will add my location in my profile. I am in Shelton, CT and looking for another Lucy for Ethel.

 

[LLL]

x2. My EE's are now 5 yrs old and none have ever gone broody. So that could be a long wait for chicks.

 

[LLL]

Thank you, I appreciate it.

 

[Latestarter]

Just as an aside... when you add the new girl, you'll want to have some sort of total enclosure to keep her from disappearing... She won't know where she is and will be scared/out of sorts for a while until she learns her new place and routine. A large open (ETA: wire, so she can see through it open, not OPEN so she can escape) crate for her to stay in for a week or so will allow her to become accustomed, get oriented, and build a relationship with your mom and her new flock partner (without dominance/leader issues).

 

[Boonie Stomper]

Ok, I don't think EE go broody often, stick with the adult hen idea

X2... maybe even better get 2 pubescent pullets already familiar with each other.

 

[LLL]

Just as an aside... when you add the new girl, you'll want to have some sort of total enclosure to keep her from disappearing... She won't know where she is and will be scared/out of sorts for a while until she learns her new place and routine. A large open (ETA: wire, so she can see through it open, not OPEN so she can escape) crate for her to stay in for a week or so will allow her to become accustomed, get oriented, and build a relationship with your mom and her new flock partner (without dominance/leader issues).

 

[LLL]

OK, thank you very much. Working on figuring out an open enclosure now. No more free ranging. Like most, learned the hard way Thank you again for your help.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Predators of chickens are opportunistic feeders. It is very likely that the first clump of down is were your hen was first captured by a hawk, and as the hawk fed on your poor hen the struggle ended were the last pile of down was discovered. Then keeping with the opportunistic feeding behavior of chicken predators a fox or coyote came buy and since an opportunity presented itself the fox or coyote scavenged the remains of your hen.

 

[LLL]

I would have thought the hawk carried it off. I realized later that the second set of feathers was further away maybe 10 feet or more going more towards the woods. Most all the feathers were the small/short ones. I have what I think is a coyote on my wildlife camera from a few weeks earlier in the same area. Maybe he is the culprit. Either way, it's traumatic and sad. Thank you for the reply.