Ugh, You Guys- I Feel TERRIBLE.

[Solomon_Jules]

So, of course- the day I'm watching the farm animals (4 chickens and a pig) is the day some kind of animal attacks. The pig is an indoor pig so he was inside and safe. The chickens however? They're free rangers, and usually they hop in their coop at night and the only duty I have is to shut the door. We got home at 10pm last night, I looked inside (its a small coop so its very hard to see inside clearly) but I see what looks like a huddle of chickens in there, so I close the door. Easy.

I wake up this morning to let them out and feed them, and one jumps out with a bare spot on his back. He runs towards one corner of the yard. I look inside because usually when it comes to food they all jump out on top of me to get their pellets. I look inside and count 2 more chickens. One roosting on a high beam, and one sitting comfortably in the laying box. "Weird" I think, where's number 4? And why does the other one have a bare spot on his back?

Well.

I look across the yard and there's the fourth chicken, lying dead near the barn.
What the...? Ugh I feel the worst anyone can feel right now, and soon I have to text my housemate and tell her she has a dead chicken and one who's bald.
I'm a terrible farmsitter

 

[Anne & Gang]

oh no!!! It sounds like a predator got in there and killed that chicken.

 

[Solomon_Jules]

oh no!!! It sounds like a predator got in there and killed that chicken.

It would seem so- the dead chicken had no visible wounds. I'm so surprised at that. The alive one has a bare back, like I said, but no wounds on the one that passed. We talked about it (my housemate and I) and she wasn't upset (thank god, but I still feel awful)... she also suggested since it didn't look like he was dragged, it may even have happened during the day while they're normally outside anyway. That makes me feel slightly better. Oy, its been a bad day.

I even lost my cell phone somewhere while I was panicking and trying to figure out what to do!

Edit: Oh god, I hope it didn't end up in the bag with the chicken--- shoot, that's something that would happen to me.

 

[Lyzzi]

These things happen. It's a fact of life, if you have chickens in a rural area. Don't beat yourself up.

 

[Hrtofau2]

Its very possible that a neighborhood dog "played" with them. Causing the feather loss on the one and killing the second. It would explain why it was dead and not eaten. Wild animals do not "kill" for fun. If it had been a wild animal the dead chicken would have been consumed.

I am sorry that it happened though, and I am glad your housemate understood. {{hugs}}

 

[Solomon_Jules]

Yeah, I have raised my own chickens, and it happens. Just sucked that its someone else's. And that it happened while I was in charge of them...

 

[Solomon_Jules]

Its very possible that a neighborhood dog "played" with them. Causing the feather loss on the one and killing the second. It would explain why it was dead and not eaten. Wild animals do not "kill" for fun. If it had been a wild animal the dead chicken would have been consumed.

I am sorry that it happened though, and I am glad your housemate understood. {{hugs}}

That's what I thought- A wild animal would have at least bitten down? She was entirely in one piece when I found her. We also discussed the possibility of her being hit by a car, and wandering off a little to die (she was found relatively close to where the yard meets the road), but then again why would the other chicken be barebacked? I agree with the dog theory- that sounds credible.

 

[BirdyLove]

You don't have to beat yourself up about it, what's done is done and hopefully won't happen again. Your story reminded me of what happened to my ducks though. One night we put our ducks into their duck coop and went to bed. Next morning bing was lying there completely horrified and in shock. We came over to her and she wouldn't budge. She'd been bitten and cut on the leg. As for bong she'd been bitten on the neck and could eat for a few weeks.

We found out it was a cat and bong recovered. But ever since, bing has never been able to walk properly again. We took her to the vet after a few weeks and she was having to take medical treatment. We also got her and x-ray. It showed a broken ankle two fractured toes.

 

[Sophia101]

Same thing happened with our ducks. We were all inside and they didn't even make a sound, next thing I know my father is yelling for me (im the animal expert) and I run outside. Their is a dead duck with no visible wounds except some missing feather on its neck. I was brave and reached into its neck feathers to find two tiny puncture marks where a weasel had bit and sucked her blood out. The one was dead another one was limping and flopping around. One was fine but was hiding and the last one we couldn't find until we were walking back inside where we found it being taunted by my dog whom we let out to chase away the attacker but she couldn't find a scent. We pulled her out as gently as we could to find the same punctures on her neck she had barely made it. We have the biggest problems with weasels, fisher cats, foxes and hawks. I cant mention how many times ive had to save the babies. We only ever had that one weasel attack, a fisher cat killed our kitten, we have had TONS of fox attacks one was when a mother fox was training her kits. Her kits (she had three) each killed a hen and when the rooster went to protect the hens the mother fox killed him too. We have had three REALLY bad hawk attacks one was a few years ago and it grabbed our duck and was pecking her head to kill her. I ran outside to save her and basically had to attack the thing to get it away from her. It was the biggest red tail ive ever seen! Its wingspan was about as tall as I was. No joke! The second was a few days ago when my father got home ran inside and asked us why we weren't watching the ducks we said we had and he asked then why is their a dead duck in the wood shed. I almost started balling thinking it was my baby Louiza but I ran to make sure and their was no dead duck. We were all confused when we saw Pablo cowering in the corner blood gushing out of his neck. He had just been stunned. I grabbed him and put him in our bathtub filled it slightly and sat with him. We thought he was going to die and I sat with him for hours. He had two gashes in his neck and a puncture straight through his beak. The last time Louiza WAS attacked and the thing was chasing her. Hawks run really weird. I chased it off so I guess it wasn't that bad.

From what you said it seems like a weasel attack. I am so sorry about the chickens but don't blame yourself it happens to the best of us.

 

[BirdyLove]

Awwww 1 million times!!

(Sob,sob)

 

[Denice]

Awww don't beat yourself up, things happen it was an accident. We have chickens, turkeys and sheep and have to be very diligent but things can still happen even if you are careful. Take Care