Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

I fight with sparrows all the time. I have a badminton racket in the coop and dispatch some at times.(Watch the birdie! Whack!) Tear down their nests, other stuff. They are scared of me, but the number seem fairly constant.

But lately, there have been dead ones here and there in the coop. Or a not too well one on the floor that I will then finish. Chickens don't seem to be ailing in any way. Found a dead one in a nest box this morning.

Wondering if the chickens are pecking them? That would be great if they would maybe defend their territory a little. But I hope its not some disease. This has been going on for a month or more, and no sick chickens. Anyone else had this kind of thing? Guesses as to what's going on?

i've found a couple of dead ones in the barn that actually were killed by each other-the males territorial over the few females and the males beat the crapola out of the other male and killed it. my chickens are useless defending themselves against sparrows LOL. i would check and see if there's anything broken or blood anywhere on the dead ones. if not then check if they have mites on them or if there's mucus in the eyes or nostrils. if there is i would freak out and clean EVERYTHING. if there isn't, then maybe a cat injured and left them and they couldn't make it, or they flew into a window or something. The not looking good one i would be worried about. the weather has been bad enough that a weak bird or a carrier may succumb to illness...and they're looking for a warmer place to try and save some energy. you can always send to guelph for testing and i thimk the mnrf is testing dead birds for west nile and stuff like that if you are worried.....otherwise i'd just get rid of the carcass in a fire or something way far away from the coop and watch the birds like crazy for any illness....

Yes as @WLLady said it's also the time when the weaklings go. We too have had birds crashing into solid objects when they are fighting and not taking notice.

Yep to above but also watch for salmonella from mouldy feed around feeders outside & in . Sparrows are like the canaries of coal mines but not gas in this instance . Luck