Mysterious deaths (warning, photos of dead chickens inside)

I woke up this morning to find 2 of my 4 chickens dead. They were in the run, which means they died before 9:30 last night because they always go into the coop no later than 9:20 pm. It had been raining and I had covered the run with a tarp, so I didn't notice anything amiss when I closed up the coop at 9:30, after dark. I didn't notice that only 2 of the 4 chickens were on the roost inside the coop. Two of the chickens are 10-12 weeks old and two are 12-14 weeks. It was the two older chickens that were dead. The two younger were placid in the coop seemingly fine as always.

This morning, I found the 2 corpses. No sign of breach of the hardware cloth, no sign of entry, no sign of a scuffle in the dirt inside the run. There were feathers spread across a wide area and only one of the corpses had feathers missing; the other corpse appears pristine. I examined the corpses; no blood, no puncture wounds, no sign of trauma other than the feathers pulled out. Their waterer, which stands upright on a brick, was still standing, near both of their corpses.

What could have happened? We live in a suburban neighborhood in Virginia and I have kept chickens in this coop for 3 years and never had a death from any reason, no predator attack, ever. It is entirely encased in 1/4" hardware cloth and is reinforced at ground level.

Also, what should I do about the two chickens that are left? I understand they need at least 3 for a social group and I don't have the heart to get a new chicken and introduce it to the flock carefully and all that....


Never had a death either.

Also, what should I do about the two chickens that are left? I understand they need at least 3 for a social group and I don't have the heart to get a new chicken and introduce it to the flock carefully and all that....

In my experience 2 males fighting that badly would leave some bloody combs.
I wonder if something small like a mink or weasel could have gotten in?

KarynVA said:

They were in the run, which means they died before 9:30 last night because they always go into the coop no later than 9:20 pm. It had been raining and I had covered the run with a tarp, so I didn't notice anything amiss when I closed up the coop

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Is the run also fully secure with wire or was the tarp the only cover? Pics required to help assess the situation fully please.

Looks like a predator issue.. NO young cockerels raised together do not fight to the death and surely not until both are dead.

Sorry for your loss.

I agree two will be fine together.

They'll be fine with two hens. I'm perplexed by the fact that your cockerels were plucked, they could have been molting and killed each other. Can we see pictures of your set up? Sorry for your losses

OMG if they are both male that could explain a lot. They were both so much larger than the other two though I was told they were the same age. The two white ones were always bumping chests and one-upping each other, physically; I always thought that was odd but never having had roosters I didn't know what to watch for.

Could they have fought each other to the death?

Right after I discovered the bodies, and before collecting evidence that came to light later in the day, I did call the lab about a necropsy. They said the cost is $208. I decided to wait and see if I could put the pieces together and save the $208.

With help from everyone on this thread and elsewhere, I have come to the conclusion that this is what happened:

It was raining off and on at dusk and I was in my room watching Stranger Things with my earbuds in and the windows closed. So if there was noise outside, I wouldn't have heard it. Later, I had a Zoom call which went longer than I expected, so I wasn't able to close the pop door inside the hardware-cloth surrounded run until 10 pm. It was pitch dark and raining, so I released the rope holding the door up quickly and in the dark, trusting that all 4 were inside as they always go in on their own at 9:20 pm.

The next morning, I found the two white ones dead inside the run, next to their outside waterer, which was still upright on a brick. The two brown ones were inside the coop as expected. At first, I thought the chickens died from illness because we examined the corpses thoroughly and there were no wounds.

However, one of the chickens had a lot of feathers missing, which remained a mystery for most of the day. Examining the feathers showed no skin or blood on the point of the shaft.

Later, I noticed the unmistakable signs of a bear having been very near the coop; but didn't attempt to get in (no breaches, scrapes, scratches, or damage to the hardware cloth). This led me to believe that the chickens reacted to the presence of a bear near the run.

I think the bear came by, the girls quickly went up inside the coop and the two, what I know now were males!, stayed in the run to defend the females. But they panic'd and flew straight up, breaking their necks on the floor of the coop above them in that end of the run. This must have happened while I was watching the movie or on the Zoom call, because the girls came down from the coop after it happened and probably tried to 'wake up' the alpha chicken by pulling its feathers. Then they went back to their roost before 10 pm, when I went out and quickly closed the door without checking on them.

That's the best explanation for the evidence that I am aware of. Thanks everyone, for your input and helping me solve this mystery.

KarynVA said:

The only good photo I have of them was soon after I got them, at the end of May. When I bought them I was told they are all pullets.

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Unfortunately, I think you were told wrong. Red on the wing/back is typically a male only thing.
Can we see your coop? Just to rule out any predators.

If you have not disposed of the remains yet I would really reexamine the necks for very tiny punctures. Sometimes difficult to find. Weasels are very small and can get through or under very tiny spaces. A weasel could have done this and not been able to drag the bodies back out under your coop.

KarynVA said:

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This is really a darlin tractor. I see you took some time and care in building it. Just a thought...many use a hardware cloth apron around the bottom and out across the ground to stop digging predators, rats and snakes.
Hope you have no more problems.

Yeah, if it's a predator, these last two may be goners. That's just the circle of life, I'm afraid. I've done everything reasonably possible to protect them. My first batch of 3 golden comets lived in that coop in my yard, in the same set up, for over 2 years and we had actually just as many bear sightings and even more raccoon sightings those summers but they never had an attack.

I did post over on the predator forum also now. This is like a true crime forensic mystery. I MUST KNOW!