What would kill chickens

[Pams54]

I have, had 32 chickens, found one dead yesterday, another one today. Their back end was eat out. Anyone have any idea what it could be? My husband is sitting over there right now with his gun, hoping it will come back

 

[ChickwitHumor3]

well i don't know what would just eat their back end, but here are some chicken eating/killing animals:

*hawk/vulture or any big bird->one killed my polish hen...R.I.P. minny
**advice to the hawk thing-> if you see three hawks/vulters (mostly three, sometimes there will be be more or less) circling in the sky above the area of where your chickens are, i advise you to put them somewhere safe--back in the coop/run.
*weasels-they just suck all the blood out and leave the body
*fox-will kill&eat--one lives back in my woods and picked up one of my hens and started to run into the woods, but dropped it when my rooster attacked it

thats all i really know....hope it helped

 

[Sharylva]

I so sorry you lost two of your chickens. I am on my second year of having chickens and my answer to your question is just about anything that can get to them. I have lost them to raccoons, opossums & dogs. Any type of hawks, coyotes, foxes, etc are also prime culprits. The worst part is once they have found your chickens its even harder to deter them. Good luck figuring out what is getting yours. When I first got my chickens, I thought my concern was how to keep them in. I know its what do I have to do to keep everything else out.

 

[Pams54]

We have them put up tonight and set a couple of hav-a- hart traps, it's killing me to think what they Went thru. Wonder if hawks would do that, we have seen hawks

 

[4-H chicken mom]

Hi and from Ohio. So glad to have you aboard. So sorry for your loss. It sounds to me like a weasel. They will be very small teeth marks on the body. Hawks usually grab the neck first. You may want to invest in a infared game cam to see what is coming around. Good luck.

 

[weimarmama]

&

from Alabama. Glad you joined us. Sorry to hear about your predator problems

 

[Pams54]

My husband thought weasel. The chickens are actually in a fenced in area of about1/2 acre. We had trouble with foxes last year when we let them free range so we built a six ft high fence. It would have to be something skinny to get through fence unless there is place something has dug under. I walked the whole thing today and couldn't see anywhere. I reached back in nest last week to get egg and something moved and it was about a6 ft black snake but I don't think they would kill a grown chicken

 

[Kevin565]

 

[LilyAshley11]

1. Flu
2. Water (a bath)
3. Predador
4. parasites
5. Another disease

:/

 

[sumi]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Sorry about your chickens, hope you catch whatever did this.