HELP!!!

[Gingerchicken]

Hi I have an idea of what had killed my chicken but I want to make sure of what it was.

Okay so today I went to check on my chickens and found that one was missing and when I looked for her I found what was left of her. She was under her favorite bush when she was attacked. All i found was most if not all her feathers and some of the organs.

Please help I already have an idea what it was but I still want to make sure so I can prevent it.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

The most certain way to find out what it was is set traps
I'd suspect a canine of some type if it ate a full grown chicken

 

[Gingerchicken]

Yeah I would set up a trap if I had one and I have seen what a fox/coyote can do. I have a feeling it was a feline. We have bobcats and lynx where we are and the killing was in late morning. Also there are a lot of wild quail around too and my silkie pullet was that size.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

It could have been most anything for a bird that small, although I think a Bobcat or Lynx would have carried it off before eating it, since they tend to be extremely shy

 

[chickengeorgeto]

It could have been most anything for a bird that small, although I think a Bobcat or Lynx would have carried it off before eating it, since they tend to be extremely shy

2X squared on what BFF said.

By the offal being left behind I vote for a bird of prey. not that a BoP would not eat the offal but that they tend to eat it last. Think of your chickens like they are a Tootsie Roll Pop, the predators certainly do. Some predators can't wait to get to the center of the Tootsie Roll Pop and just bite the chicken in half. Other predators count the number of licks it takes to get to the center. Hawks fall into this latter area.


Was any of the skeleton structure there or still connected? BOP tend to pluck or rip the small feathers from their victims before starting to eat them and the way in which the victim is consumed is like a small child would suck strips of spaghetti off his plate. This results in a lot of small feathers in the area were the victim was consumed, plus most bones are there and they are even still connected because only the muscle fibers have been stripped away.

A red tail hawk would have flew away with a chicken as small as the thread starter said her silkie was, a coopers' hawk may have been able to fly away or maybe not, but I don't think that a sharp shinned or blue darter hawk could have carried a quail sized or bigger chicken anywhere but under a bush where he is capable of running a silki to before killing it in that place.

 

[Gingerchicken]

Thanks for the comments I haven't seen any hawks around but we do have them and there was no bones or flesh just the organs and almost all the feathers including the tail and wing feathers. Also it was under a bush that was beside a big field that is grown up about 4ft. and the bush had a clearing of 2 foot.