6-week old chick lost a leg?!

[Nacole]

Hi All!

About 4 days ago, I moved my 6-week old Olive Eggers into the big coop (by themselves) Everything was going great until last night when I went to check on them and one is just missing a leg. We can't find it anywhere...It's just gone! She is not fussing or acts as if she is in pain, she's just laying down and moving to get water and food when needed.

I'm just confused as to what could have caused this. The only predator that can get in is snakes but I can't imagine a black snake just taking a leg. We have a chicken run but it is very secure and has a net over top to keep any hawks and such out. There is no sign of any struggle or anything.

Has anyone else had this happen or have any ideas how it happened? We had a very rough year last season with predators getting our adult and baby chicks, so I am taking this particularly hard and want to make sure the other 13 chicks are safe.

Thanks in advance!

 

[LilFinnGirl]

Is it possible it got injured and other chickens pecked at it to the point of amputation? How does the joint look where the leg is missing?

A raccoon, weasel, or skunk could have pulled it through the wire if they could reach it. What sort of wore do you have? Why do you say only snakes can get to them?

 

[DemeterAD9]

Pictures of the leg? If it is a fresh wound then I would guess it either a weasel or rat. It wouldn't take much to pull a chick's leg off through a wire bottom or gap through a wooden floor.

 

[Nacole]

Is it possible it got injured and other chickens pecked at it to the point of amputation? How does the joint look where the leg is missing?

A raccoon, weasel, or skunk could have pulled it through the wire if they could reach it. What sort of wore do you have? Why do you say only snakes can get to them?

It's chicken wire. We have secured it like Fort Knox! We had a raccoon get in last year and a hawk get one right outside the coop so we have for the most part secured any point of entry for most animals. We have a net over the outside run that also hangs down over the chicken wire. I guess something could have pulled it off through the wire. I'm just confused that there is absolutely no sign of struggle. No feathers, blood, or the missing leg. There are 14 chicks and they all seem to get along fine and there's no pecking at each other that I've seen. I just wish I knew what happened so I can prevent it from happening again.

 

[Nacole]

Pictures of the leg? If it is a fresh wound then I would guess it either a weasel or rat. It wouldn't take much to pull a chick's leg off through a wire bottom or gap through a wooden floor.

I will take one and attach it tonight when I get home. Thanks!

 

[LilFinnGirl]

It's chicken wire. We have secured it like Fort Knox! We had a raccoon get in last year and a hawk get one right outside the coop so we have for the most part secured any point of entry for most animals. We have a net over the outside run that also hangs down over the chicken wire. I guess something could have pulled it off through the wire. I'm just confused that there is absolutely no sign of struggle. No feathers, blood, or the missing leg. There are 14 chicks and they all seem to get along fine and there's no pecking at each other that I've seen. I just wish I knew what happened so I can prevent it from happening again.

The holes in typical chicken wire are large enough for a predator (especially a raccoon) to reach in and grab. Big enough for a weasel or rat to squeeze in as well.

You may consider switching to 1/2inch hardware cloth to prevent it from happening again.

Hoping the chick will recover, they can be hearty lil buggers!

 

[Nacole]

The holes in typical chicken wire are large enough for a predator (especially a raccoon) to reach in and grab. Big enough for a weasel or rat to squeeze in as well.

You may consider switching to 1/2inch hardware cloth to prevent it from happening again.

Hoping the chick will recover, they can be hearty lil buggers!

thank you

 

[LilFinnGirl]

How’s the little one doing?

 

[Hantell]

We once had a raccoon pull the leg clean off of a chick through the wire