Entire Flock Attacked... help please!

[LMWT]

Yesterday I got home to find that our entire flock (8 hens) had been attacked during the day and 3 were killed. They free range on our acre lot that has a 6 ft fence all the way around. We did not see any signs of predators (hawk/crow feathers, footprints etc) and have no clue what got our girls.

The Details:
- It happened in the middle of the day
- 6 ft high privacy fence around entire property so not likely dogs
- All 8 had been attacked and were missing lots of feathers and had wounds that looked like scratches and punctures. Some had bigger wounds.
- 2 were dead when we found them and missing their heads, but not much else was eaten
- 3rd chicken was still alive but really struggling so we ended her suffering. She was on the opposite side of the property from the other two and had extensive wounds that were actually already full of maggot eggs.
- There were piles of feathers from all 8 girls all over the yard so it was like it was a prolonged attack with something or multiple somethings attacking.

Our guesses are hawk, crows or maybe fox and raccoons but being the middle of the day the last two are less likely.

Any help identifying the killer would be great! Thanks

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Fox have kits this time of year and can jump a very high fence but I think it would have taken at least one bird with it when it left.
Weasel is a strong possibility.
Cats? Owl? Where do you live?

 

[LMWT]

We live in NC so all of those things are possible. We do/did have an owl that was hanging out in our yard at night some.

But the fact that this happened in the middle of the day and all 8 were injured is the part that is really confusing us since most of our predators are mostly nocturnal. And it seems like most preditors, unless there was a group of them, would only kill/hurt 1 or 2 not all 8.

Thanks for the help!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

A weasel, cat and dog do that although you said dog was unlikely.
I saw a great horned owl hunting about 4 PM recently. They like to hunt animals on the ground.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/261440/the-worst-predator

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/18670/poultry-predator-identification

 

[dracoe19]

Sounds like raccoons. I have never heard of crows attacking and a hawk will only take one, pluck the entire bird, then take the carcase. Foxes will also take most if not all of the birds. I had the same thing happen and a fox took 10 birds and left 1 or 2 dead ones. Racoons like to kill for fun and rarely eat the bird.
Sorry for your loss.

 

[LMWT]

Thanks both of you!

Dracoe, I think you may be right. I just read something that coons will hunt during the day if they are comfortable and feel save in their environment. And I know they like removing heads. So its pretty likely.

Yesterday I was looking for footprints since the ground was wet from all the rain we have had but did not find any. I will look again today.

 

[NickW1]

+1 Racoon, also check your fence make sure nothing has dug underneath it if so then maybe a local dog. Racoons will just scamper right over any fence, they are the best of climbers. Barbed Wire at the top and right on the ground will help with the digging critters and/or electric fence. Good Luck.

 

[Moonkit]

Double check your fence.. are there any holes or missing planks where something might have squeezed in or dug under? The damage really sounds more like a dog, but the only think I could imagine that would have the ability/desire to scale a 6ft wood fence would be a very determined husky-type. Now if there's a hole, that opens it up to alot of other breeds...

The damage isn't right for Crows or Hawks, like other posters said. Foxes can and do attack in the middle of the day, especially if nothing is around to challenge them and a 6 foot fence is nothing to them... but they would have taken the bodies to bury elsewhere (called "cache"ing, I believe)

Raccoons sound like your most likely culprits.. can you set a live trap, bait it with a body to see?

 

[ZooKey]

I have an outside cat and she has taken wild turkeys down and eaten their heads off. Domestic cats if allowed to be outside can maintaine their hunting instincts and do more damage than some people might think. I have to get her involved with all my new chicks when they are young so that she looks at them as pets and not prey. She does pertty well with my girls, she may make them a little nervous at times but she wont hurt them. I watched her one time make a b-line at a stray cat standing next to my coop and tear the crap out of it like she was protecting the flock. I hoped my dog would bond with the hens but I never thought my cat would play a protective role, heck I was just hoping she wouldn't chew their heads off. Never rule out domestic cats, some of them can be pretty nasty.