Chicken killed

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Nasnro

Nasnro

Songster
6 Years
Nov 6, 2015
58
6
101
Ireland
Hi all, hope you can help. Over the past few months we have had on duck and almost 10 chickens killed. they all had similar traits, head gone and feathers everywhere and no prints. We have suspicion it may be an owl but the last pair were dragged all around the run and surly an owl couldn't drag a chicken. The only other opition is mink, stoat, cat, fox. I will post pics soon. Thanks
 
Sounds like a hawk. They fly in very quickly and kill. In my experience they rip the head off and leave the body. There are usually a bunch of feathers around too. The hawks are so light they don't leave prints except in snow. Your best bet is to cover the run. Its illegal to kill a hawk.
 
That sounds like a mink. I had a major mink problem last winter and lost 54 birds and 6 turkeys to it in five days. Mink will go for head and neck area. They will also drag the bird around the yard. Hawks will eat a huge chunk out of the abdomen area. Can you send me more details on the carcass of the animal so I can be of further help?
 
I would say that is definitely a mink. Theyre big enough to kill a chicken by ripping off the head, but theyre too small to carry the carcass off and eat the whole thing. Remains that look like that arent the work of a bird of prey.
 
Thanks, just purchased a mink trap. Hopefully this will help until we find where the little bugger is getting in. I also purchased a game camera so hopefully we find out.
 
Mink are very hard to trap. My Father had to stay out in the barn in the middle of the night in below zero weather to catch it. He shot it when it came. It could also be a skunk. Skunks kill their prey in a similar way that Mink do.
 
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Thanks, we were planing on shooting but we don't want to disturb the neighbours late at night. But if any more get killed that will be the final answer
 
I had a bad experience yesterday for the first time two of my chickens died. my dog had managed to get her way into the coop and caught my leghorns. The saddest part was that when I got home from school one of them was still alive but mangled completely. I knew i had to end its suffering so I did. I took the chickens bodies into the woods to get them out of the yard. And when I went to look this morning they were gone, nothing but feathers remained. But the weirdest part about it is when I followed the trail of feathers I found a small white egg from one of them. I'm hoping this is a sign that everything will be ok and a gift from them. I couldn't bare to see it as it reminded me of them and how they were from little chicks to the birds they grew to be.
 

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