katieD Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 well today has been a horrible birthday went out to check my girls and do the daily stuff and found one of my silkies huddled in the corner of the wir under the ladder to the cube with her head bleeding and pecked- went and picked her up and she had blood under her tummy/chest area. i took her inside and got some warm water etc to bathe it to see what the damage was only to discover that one of her legs had completly been torn off clean- i really dont know how she was still alive got her to the vets and had her put down asap but i have so many questions as to how this happened? shes always broody and therefore away from the gang alot of the time which has caused her to be bottom of the pecking order- but i have never heard of anything like it? i know they can be evil cannibals but isn this a bit extreme?! but how else could it have happened??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Oh my word, how awful . I'm so sorry, what an awful thing to happen and for you to have to discover . I know they can be quite vicious but this does seem very extreme, as you say . She couldn't have got her leg caught in something? Happy Birthday . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chick wiggle Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Oh my goodness! Im so sorry, how awful for you RIP little one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majuka Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Oh the poor girl, I'm so sorry to hear this.x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katieD Posted August 27, 2010 Author Share Posted August 27, 2010 im going to have a big clean tomorrow in the run and look for any 'evidence' but ive looked round and cant find the leg etc or any blood? i think the head pecking is just from the hens taking advantage of her being poorly and huddled in the corner- but what happend before that is very odd? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Do you think she was maybe attacked by something like a cat outside the run and managed to get herself back in there afterwards ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Sorry to hear it. Could she have been attacked by a stoat or mink? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Oh my goodness how awful It does sound more like another predator got the leg if there's no sign of it then the other chickens will attack a weak member of the flock. Mink are vicious and can get in small spaces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippy chick Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 OMG that's terrible what a really awful shock for you Rip little one xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms Marple Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Poor you and your silkie. I posted on wed about a possible fox attack, but I am coming around to thinking that it could have been mink/stoat or even rats. I am off to buy ratbait int he morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 So sorry what a shock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkBevBen Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 Oh you poor thing finding your lovely chicken in such a state May she be sleeping peacefully now and hope you find out what the cause was xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldstar Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 I am so sorry. What an awful discovery for you. RIP little one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercedes55 Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 I am so sorry to hear about your little silkie, that is just awful. I do hope you find out what happened. I've heard a few stories on here about possible mink or stoat attacks but I don't know enough about chickens to know if they would do that to each other. You kind of like to hope they don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poachedegg Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 Really sorry to hear about your Silkie. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateurkeeper Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 Oh that's awful - so sorry to hear your news Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frizz Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 OMG that is awful. Poor you in having to find her like that and poor little silkie (RIP little one). I would agree with everyone else, it does sound very much like a predator. The others will take advantage of an injured bird. A big hug to you. I hope you find out what it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the bradley bunch Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 oh katie that's awful my heart goes out to you and your little silkie in heaven now x i've heard that chickens can be cannibals but this is extreme and normally only happens if they're living quarters are poor and they aren't given enough food, water, space & love (which clearly isn't the case here). it's most likely that the injury to her leg happened some other way and the girls (seeing her vulnerability) might have bullied her a bit (unfortunately that can be the nature of chickens); hence the signs of head pecking. but i honestly believe it's highly unlikely that they will have actually attacked her...i hope this if anything brings some comfort. i think it's vital now that you find out what could have caused her initial injury, so that you keep it from happening to your other girls. i know this must be very difficult for you but i think you need to search the whole run & house for her missing leg to make sure it hadn't got caught in anything that could be a risk to your other girls. if you can't find it then it sounds like a predator has somehow got into the wir and attacked her, or even reached through the mesh and grabbed at her. you must look for signs of blood anywhere on the mesh and for any gaps in the wir to try and find out how the predator got to her in the first place, so that you can keep your other girls safe if it was to return. i would also advise locking them up in the house as soon as it starts to get to dark tonight, until you've figured out what's caused this you need to keep them extra safe & secure. i'm so sorry to go into so much detail, i know this must be such a distressing time for you but the welfare of your other girls is priority now so it's important you figure out how this happened, and also to get some closure for yourself. *sending big hugs to you* stay strong for your other girls and i will say a prayer tonight for you & your darling silkie lots of love x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katieD Posted August 28, 2010 Author Share Posted August 28, 2010 thanks for all your kind words x ive done a mass clearout/investgation today and honestly not a spot of blood anywhere apart from where i found her huddled up? no leg etc either- where ive cut the WIR to get the cube ladder through theres gaps about 2inch square either side of the ladder so something could have easily got in through that- funny but when we built it all my main concerns were can the chickens get out and could a fox get in- never did it cross my mind that something else might be a predator to them in my garden! my husband has just got back from work and is on to the case of blocking up the holes near the ladder. the only other thing i thought is if she got her leg stuck through the gap in the nesting area? as she was a grumpy broody that loved the nest box and then somethings attacked her through that? but then you could think the cube would have been a right mess? dont think im gonna know for sure but just block up the gaps and lock them in at night x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollie333 Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 . I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm thinking predator. Rip Little one! . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipistrelle Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 I'm so sorry. It does sound like a small predator may have tried to pull her out through a gap, that could explain the missing leg Bit worried about a gap between one side and the rear door of my cube, but I wonder if a stoat could get through the run bars anyway? Hopefully this wont happen to your girls again. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 I left it quite a long time before I filled in the gaps each side of the ladder. Was so lucky it wasn't me. Such a sad tale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katieD Posted August 29, 2010 Author Share Posted August 29, 2010 well hopefully some good can come from it if people read this and go and check for small gaps in their run- hopefully we can prevent anymore similar attacks x go and check your runs! i wish i'd thought about it sooner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WitchHazel Posted August 29, 2010 Share Posted August 29, 2010 I've only just caught up with this...I'm so sorry to hear about your silkie, what a horrible thing for her, and what an awful thing for you to find. It does sound like something grabbed her from outside the run, and that's when she lost her leg. The head trauma might be related to that, or it is possible that the other girls attacked her atter she lost her leg. They will not be the cause of the leg loss. What a truy dreadful thing to have happened. I;m so sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadietoo Posted August 29, 2010 Share Posted August 29, 2010 So sorry to hear of the loss of your lovely girl. Sending hugs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
