Category: Chicken Health

The chicken keeper’s worst nightmare is unfortunately common. You head out to the coop to feed your hens…and instead walk into a battleground of dismembered chickens. Although you may simply want to crawl into a hole and cry at the time, it’s worth taking a few minutes to determine what kind of predator killed your chickens so you can prevent further attacks.

The key (and descriptions) below are based on a
factsheet from the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service.  To read the key, start at the top and answer each question, skipping ahead as ordered until you find your answer.  For example, if one bird is missing but you see feathers in the coop, you’d start at question 1, skip ahead to 5, and settle on a fox or coyote as your culprit.

1. Were the birds killed or missing?

• Dead birds visible……………………………………………………………….go to 2
• One or more birds missing……………………………………………………go to 5

2. How may birds were killed?

• Several……………………………………………………………………………….go to 3
• One or two killed…………………………………………………………………go to 4

3. How were several birds killed?

• Mauled but not eaten…………………………………………………………….Dogs
• Killed by small bites on body, neatly piled, some heads eaten…….Mink or Weasel
• Heads and crops eaten on several birds……………………………………Raccoon

4. How were one or two birds killed?

• Birds mauled, abdomen eaten………………………………………………..Opossum
• Deep marks on head and neck, some eaten……………………………..Owl
• Chicks killed and abdomen eaten; lingering scent…………………….Skunk
• Young chicks dead on floor of coop………………………………………Rat

5. How many birds are missing?

• One bird is missing but feathers remain…………………………………..Fox or Coyote
• Several birds are missing without a trace…………………………………Human
• One or two chicks are missing without a trace………………………….Rat

Dogs. A dog usually kills chickens for the sport.  Several dead birds with much mauling of the carcasses is usually evidence of a dog. Dogs usually visit the chicken pen during daylight hours rather than at night.

Mink and Weasel. Birds usually show signs of attack on the sides of the head if a mink
or weasel has visited the poultry house. With these predators, several birds will probably be killed and piled neatly together. The back of the head and neck are frequently the only parts of the carcass consumed.

Raccoon.  If a predator visits only once each 5 to 7 days and eats the head and the crop of the dead birds, a raccoon is probably responsible. Sometimes more than one bird will be killed at each visit.

Opossum. The opossum generally attacks only one bird at each visit. Usually, the bird’s abdomen has been eaten. Eggs may also be the object of the opossum’s raid on the chicken house.

Owl. The only likely culprit here is the great horned owl, which does sometimes attack poultry. One or two birds are usually killed, with the talons being used to pierce the brain.  The owl wil usually eat only the head and neck. Feathers found on a fence post near the chicken house or pen may provide an additional clue.

Fox and Coyote. The old sayings about the sly fox were not by accident. The fox and the coyote are very smart and difficult to catch in the act of raiding the flock. Since birds are frequently carried away with little evidence left behind, the only way of determining losses may be a head count.  Visits from these predators will usually be very early in the morning.  Keeping birds in a secure pen or poultry house until late morning is good insurance against losses from a fox or coyote.

Skunks. Skunks do not usually attack adult birds. They may kill a few chicks and eat the abdomen.  Eggs may also be the targest.  If skunks have been in the poultry house, the odor is usually a clue.

Humans. Unfortunately, there can be problems from people as well as animals. If birds are
missing with very little evidence, particularly from a predator proof pen or house, the possiblity of humans being involved should not be overlooked.

As I mentioned before, one of our chicks hatched with a foot problem.  The toes on one foot were curled into a fist that remained closed even when the chick started hopping around.

There are two potential causes of what’s known as “curled toe paralysis.” If toes on both of your chickens’ feet are curled up, chances are the bird is suffering from a riboflavin deficiency due to a malnourished mother hen.
The solution in that case is to provide a vitamin supplement to that
chick immediately, which in many cases will cause the toes to naturally
uncurl.

If your chick has curled toes on only one foot (meaning it probably injured itself in the egg) or if you provide vitamins and the toes don’t uncurl, you’ll need to splint the chick’s foot.  Splinting is best done as soon as you notice the problem — I waited until day 3, but think I would have seen even better results if I’d splinted on day 1.  Mark helped me by holding the chick still during the operation and I highly recommend you find a helper before trying the procedure as well.

I’ve seen various splint methods on the internet, but the one that worked for us was to use two pieces of 3M Transpore tape to sandwich the chick’s toes into a flat position.  Various people have had good luck with using bandaids and cardboard, but I didn’t think the bandaids were sticky enough, so I opted for the breathable but stickier Transpore.  The extra stickiness made it easy to uncurl one toe at a time, laying each one against the tape to stay in place while I worked on the next.

The first day we splinted the chick’s foot, we learned another lesson — make sure the tape covers every bit of his toes.  Our chick wasn’t pleased to have one foot turn into a flipper, so he pecked at the tape, which prompted his siblings to follow suit.  I had left the end of one toe exposed and that spot was soon slightly bloody.  Wrapping the tape all the way around the foot worked much better the next day.

We replaced the splint 24 hours later, at which point it was clear the toes were starting to uncurl but
weren’t there yet.  The second splint stayed on for two days, which seemed to be just long enough to make sure the chick was able to walk flat-footed rather than on a fist.  His toes are still slightly crooked, but the deformity doesn’t seem to slow him down — I have to sit and watch the brooder for five minutes before I can even pick him out.  I’m glad to have been able to save such an intrepid chick!