Poultry Predator Identification

[Chickenpen]

I lost 4 full grown hens during the day. I found them in their house. They had no noticeable marks. One hen had a small bald spot on it's breast. I couldn't find any broken bones. It looked as if they had just laid down and died. I do have snakes, rats, cats, raccoons, opossum, hawks, owls. During the day I have had dog, and hawk problems but nothing like this. One neighbor said it could be a posionous snake. Any ideals?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I lost 4 full grown hens during the day. I found them in their house. They had no noticeable marks. One hen had a small bald spot on it's breast. I couldn't find any broken bones. It looked as if they had just laid down and died. I do have snakes, rats, cats, raccoons, opossum, hawks, owls. During the day I have had dog, and hawk problems but nothing like this. One neighbor said it could be a poisonous snake. Any ideals?

I find it unlikely that a poisonous no-shoulders reptile would be gallivanting around Rural Oklahoma at this time of year, but stranger things has happened.

 

[karenerwin]

I lost 4 full grown hens during the day. I found them in their house. They had no noticeable marks. One hen had a small bald spot on it's breast. I couldn't find any broken bones. It looked as if they had just laid down and died. I do have snakes, rats, cats, raccoons, opossum, hawks, owls. During the day I have had dog, and hawk problems but nothing like this. One neighbor said it could be a posionous snake. Any ideals?

with 4 of them dead with no external signs of attack I would wonder if they ate something bad for them. Any ice melt or rat poison or anything like that?

 

[Chickenpen]

I guess it would be possible...I keep all poisons and chemicals like fertilizer in my barn. Poisons are kept locked up. I haven't lost any since that time. But that does give me something to look for. They do free range and I will walk their feeding area and look for anything unusual. Good Ideal thanks, I am at a complete loss.

 

[WthrLady]

Photo #3 looks like river otter.

Can someone identify these tracks, I found them on my pond shore and just wondered what they were. I did have a chicken go missing yesterday but I doubt that has anything to do with whatever animal made those tracks. I'm thinking maybe muskrat but I'm not sure. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Chickenlove64]

This morning I found the head of one of our best layers in our front lawn. Just the head, no body anywhere. No feathers or blood in the coop either. I'm not sure what could have done that? The coop is a ways away from our front lawn, so you could imagine how surprised I was when I found her head so far away from the coop with no body. We're thinking owl but we recently had a problem with a raccoon, however I don't think a raccoon did it. Does anyone have any ideas what could have done it? We want to solve the problem before we lose any of our other hens.

 

[happyfrenchman]

That is too bad. Sorry.
I know Racoons will leave the head and take the rest off. Racoons will come back where they have success. I would set a trap ASAP.

 

[hayley3]

Was she locked up in the coop? Weasels can drag off the body somewhere else to eat it. Foxes normally take the whole body. Most wild animals eat the head first so it's odd you have the opposite.

 

[getaclue]

For those that use electric fencing, which brand fence charger have you had the best success with?

 

[Chickenlove64]

Yes, all the hens were locked up in the coop that night because of the raccoon from a couple nights ago. Our dog actually brought us the body of the hen a week ago. There were hardly any feathers and only the wings were really left. Still not sure what could have gotten her.