[plumseverywhere]

earlier today my 5 year old wandered into the office where I was here on the PC and said "look what I just found in the chicken house mum" so i turned expecting to see an egg (as you do...!) and India was stood there holding this huge black dead bird by the neck (it looked just like the rubber toy chickens you can buy dogs, the squeaky jobs) and the smell was just disgusting!
she then said here you go and went to drop it on my lap at which point I screamed  this made my 3 year old panic and scream and then India too and she dropped it on the floor.

so, on closer inspection it looked like a baby bird (although it was about the size of a skinny rook) only thing that made it look baby was eyes tightly shut and no real feathers yet.
so....how the heck did it end up in my nest box?! it wasn't there the half hour previously when I'd collected 7 eggs, one of the chooks must have found it and taken it in yuk!  Now I'm wondering health wise as it obviously had been dead a while, about if I need to do anything eg. if they've taken chunks out of it - oh yuk, I'm sorry I hope no-ones eating tea while they read this!!
I'm going to go now!!
Lisa

[doganjo]

I can't see any of the hens taking that into their own nest box.  Do you have a cat? or a dog?  that has access to the nest box?  Or a joker in the family with your little girl as an unwitting accomplice?

[Daveravey]

Yes, I'm reading this whilst eating 

I can't see anyone doing this for a joke with a dead bird, that's just plain stupid !!

[Roxy]

Not sure how it came to be in the nest box - do you think it flew it, got exhausted and died?  I think the hot weather and lack of water is killing a few birds off.  Maybe not getting enough food with the dry weather.  I have found a blackbird and thrush one yesterday and one today in the field. No sign of a cat having them.

Crows, rooks etc. do have a funny smell.  I  put it down to them having their nests in chimneys etc.  cos thats how they smell, like soot.

I would not worry, I am sure your hens will be fine.  Hope you two children have got over the shock of you screaming!!  Oh, and I bet you made her scrub her hands after carrying the dead bird, didn't you!!!

[plumseverywhere]

too right Roxy!! she scrubbed with all the alcohol handwash I could fine 

no jokers in this household that would have done it and Poor Indi was so matter of fact bringing it in until I screamed,

further investigation and India has said "actually, it wasn't in the nest box but just outside the chicken house" so I think perhaps its a large black baby bird that fell out of his nest. mystery pretty much solved 
sorry for putting you off your tea daveyravey!

[doganjo]

Glad you sorted it - oh, and I don't think there's much that would put Dave off his food!

[Daveravey]

Glad you sorted it - oh, and I don't think there's much that would put Dave off his food!

You're soooo right Annie   

[doganjo]

Funny how I sussed that after just one meeting huh?

[Daveravey]

Yeah i know, i don't like eating cold food that's meant to be hot, plus it was bloody good 


& to think i had a 46 inch chest & a 31 inch waist not so long ago