What on earth could do this?

[MichelleT]

So, my reasoning for posting this isn't so much for our friend as it is for our flock. But before I address that, here is the picture:

Here's what our friend had to say about the last attack (this was the second and they are now hen-less)...
"They came back for Rose last night. Tore the lid off again and all the weight I placed on top of it. Only feathers left. If any of you are thinking about getting chickens, I still highly suggest it. They're sweet little creatures with distinct personalities. I love that we got to have a chicken season in our lives with four of the best chickens in the world. And the silly as it sounds, I learned a lot from watching our little flock of four. We'll miss you, girls"

Originally she thought that is was a fox, but could a fox "tear off the lid" of the nesting box along with a great deal of weight? I'm thinking raccoon...??? Or, maybe bear??? They live relatively close to the mountains and there have been a few sightings this summer, but none in her neighborhood... (We do not have weasels or mink in these parts.)

Now, my motives:
Is my coop safe? I am 99% convinced that our run is safe. But the coop is not completely inside the run. If a critter can tear the lid off a nesting box (not in the run), then what's a chicken owner to do? Ours looks basically like the one above, with hinged lid and latches/hooks to keep it secure. We definitely have coyotes and raccoons... not sure about foxes. In the last 8 years I have not seen any evidence of them.

 

[MadamPoofyBrow]

I'm leaning toward bear, acctually. I think anything smaller would have left more behind (For example, as gross as it is, parts, blood, or a decent section of the chicken) Bears however grab n go, and are big enough to get out with nothing but feathers lost.
Which insn't comforting cause there are bears where I live.
Whatever it was, I'd secure your coop to the best of your abilities. Latches on the doors, nails where you don't have to open, anything you can think of. I have locks on all my coop doors for protection and all I've lost to is snakes.
Good luck!

 

[Briza]

I'm pretty sure a raccoon would be smart enough and strong enough to push the weights over unless there are weights that aren't in the picture but I'm not sure about tearing it off unless the construction was not very strong. It looks like the hinge broke, is that right? I can see a coon breaking a hinge if it's weak enough and no question about a bear having the strength. Another thing that could do that would be a human being trying to make it look like an animal attack. What bothers me is that the hinges don't look damaged from repeated attempts to pull them off.

 

[MadamPoofyBrow]

I'm pretty sure a raccoon would be smart enough and strong enough to push the weights over unless there are weights that aren't in the picture but I'm not sure about tearing it off unless the construction was not very strong. It looks like the hinge broke, is that right? I can see a coon breaking a hinge if it's weak enough and no question about a bear having the strength. Another thing that could do that would be a human being trying to make it look like an animal attack. What bothers me is that the hinges don't look damaged from repeated attempts to pull them off.

x2, didn't even think of that. You could have a human chicken thief. I notice that about the hinges now, and that pile of feathers is rather neat instead of strewn about like you'd expect a predator attack to be.

 

[MichelleT]

Interesting you would suggest humans. I don't think that fits though. Here is her first assessment, after they lost the first three 2 nights ago:
"Now we know what "a fox in the hen house" is all about. Last night, a fox (and friends?) carried off Lady, Martha and Penny. Zoë (daughter) had been out and stopped to check on the chickens as she got home and the roof of the nesting box was torn off – and sweet and sassy Rose was the only one left. There was evidence of Lady and Penny just down the path from our house but no Martha. I found the culprit's print on the inside of the nesting box this morning and teeth marks. .... By the way, this is the 3rd fox/hens incident on our street in the past 6 wks."





I think that this is a post-attack picture of the coop as I only see one hen (Rose) in the photo, so I'm guessing that they repaired the damage to the hinges and then placed that piece of flagstone on top. I'm not sure what she meant by "evidence"...

 

[Briza]

I'm guessing Racoon based on print and teeth marks, probably with babies if she's eating that much chicken. Those look kind of like a child's fingers so it has to be a 'coon as it's the only one with the long digits and they're known for manipulating objects.

 

[MichelleT]

Okay, that was my initial thought too. And while we do not have bears where we are, we most definitely do have raccoons. We have not seen evidence of them for a long time but I know better than to be fooled that they can't show up at a moments notice. And that scares me because our friends' coop looked pretty safe on initial inspection and although our run rivals Fort Knox, the coop isn't any more secure than what our friends have.

My husband is reinforcing the nesting box hinges and door today. We're looking for other weak entry points as well and I sure hope we find them all!

 

[KathieMc]

Raccoon tracks are semi long with slender digits(almost finger like)not rounded...they look a lot different from the one you've posted. At first I thought the print looked like a canine track, but is it possible it could be feline? I don't know what area your friend is from, but I wonder if they have bobcats or lynx. I know that a bobcat could rip something apart like this and carry away it's prey...it happened here to a nearby rabbit hutch.

 

[SouthernCalEggs]

Was there no latch? It's much harder for a raccoon if he can't get it "started". They are smart and strong and if they can get it started they will keep working at it till they get in. If the latch holds it down and they can't get it to move, they will move to an easier place to start or move on all together. Lots of raccoons where I live. I've trapped 11 so far.

 

[aart]

Would be nice if there was a quarter in the pic for scale, that would tell a lot.
Agrees it doesn't look like a coon print.

Wonders about those hinges....almost looks like the pin half of hinge slide out of the other half...can't see well enough in the pic tho.

Latches are always good idea....raccoon proof latches, loop with lock or caribineer.