I have five chickens and one died and another is dying is it possible that the other three did this?

Question

all 5 were in a big cage and i found one dead this morning and the other one has blood all over its behind. what could have happened? i don't think that another animal got in the cage and the three others had blood on their heads and feathers

Answer 1

no the others didnt do that, small animals like mink love to kill chickens, they can sneak in even the smallest holes

Answer 2

Install CCTV and clear all doubts.

Answer 3

Some chickens will peck others in the head and eventually kill them hince the term "hen pecked"Watch them closely,there is always a pecking order and the one that died was on the bottom of that order.Now with that one gone another has just been moved to the bottom of that list.

Answer 4

i think the other chikens did it, let me tell you wat i think....chinken#4 needed money, so chiken#3 suggested to chinken#4 to kill chiken#1 and get the money from the insurance agancy, chiken#3 agreed to it and they planned it all out, later that night chiken#1 was sleeping, and while it was sleeping, chinken#4 and chiken#3 stabbed chiken#1 to death and got rich off of its insurance policy......or maybe a racoon broke into the cage?

Answer 5

Not enough information but I will do the best I can.

  Was there any evidence as to the death of the first bird?

  How long have you had the chickens?  Is it possible you picked up some sick chickens?

  If your cage is not that big,over crowded chickens will peck each other and once they get the taste of blood,they keep pecking and the bleeding can get excessive and it can actually kill the bird.

   Remove the bloody chicken and allow her to heal if possible before replacinging her in the cage.

    Watch your birds and see if this is the problem.

    Also you need to make sure that you are giving them the proper food and that they are not lacking in vitamins/minerals.

Answer 6

Maybe it's a disease...parvo, but I'm not sure if chickens get it.

Answer 7

It doesnt matter if the others had blood on there heads and feathers. It was eather a racoon, cyote, fox, or a flying preditor like owl or hawk. Make sure that you have an extra amount of chicken wire around the bottom/middle of the cage so that they cant get htem. I had a he that haf the bottom was missing found out it was a coon. Hope you fix the pen better.

I put plywood around the bottom of the cage or mine. its 1-2 ft deep and 1/2 inch thick and thats the best to do 4 them.

Answer 8

sounds like a case of craneal/rectal inversion to me

Answer 9

Allow me to explain it in a very simple word. They die fighting. 3 on 2. Hey, chicken fights too.(Like chicks)

Answer 10

You may want to contact AVA to rule out the possibility of the H5N1 strain of Avian Influenza or Bird Flu.

Answer 11

Just Q has my vote and has already given half my answer, so I'm leaving that part alone, though that is my first guess. A predator would have left more damage.

However, let me give you an idea for keeping out the bad guys from pens (if you build a bigger one)

Definitely plywood or siding around the bottom 18'-24'. I also put it around the top 2' to stop drafts while sleeping. But, as a predator barrier, I add 2' of chain link or 2x2 (or smaller) welded wire laid flat on the ground right up against the pen. If you bury it, some animals will just dig deeper. Plus, most people won't bother to dig deep enough for 2' of wire, and it will rust. But if you lay it on top, the predator usually doesn't think of backing up to dig under it. Most continue to try to dig where the side of the pen meets the dirt, and with the wire there, they can't even dig down an inch.

Worked on dogs.

Answer 12

sounds like they are pecking the one that's all sore if you don't remove it it will be dead next make sure the birds have plenty of food and water the one with the back side messed up needs to be put away in a pen by self till heals since its all exposed the others will peck and peck they have tasted blood and this is not good.