Possum will start at vent, eat inside out I have had it happen. Usually possum lazy opportunist. Go for chicken food or easy meal, but they will kill a chicken.
Chickens will eat each other as said above.
You must have a way for these varmints to gain entry? Set up a camera.
Dogs usually kill for sport. Not saying it wasn't a dog. Heads missing, partially eaten. Sounds like a family of raccoon.
Whatever it was will come back.
Put up some game cameras know what your up against.
Think I got about 12 to 15 inch or so real wet snow, ended up turning backblade on tractor around and just pushing snow off driveway to the side down to town road.
Ran backblade on 8n this year. Even blade angled can not get enough flow with the snow off blade. To wet. Pulling the front end to...
without knowing where you live or kind of predators you have I will guess a raccoon. Raccoon will carry off chickens, take heads and partially eat them. Just a guess.
I bought eggs this last winter first time in long time. Anyway I buy mostly the pasture eggs or so advertised on carton Cost more but rather try support the smaller farmer aside the corporates.
I do buy some white eggs, I hard boil those.
Brahmas can take a year to lay. Never had one take that long. Brahma usually takes bit longer than some other breeds to lay. Brahmas are slower growing big birds. From what I have read the white black (light) brahmas are the best layers of the Brahma group. I had white black Brahmas and they are...
Late Merry Christmas and Late Happy New Year. 40 degrees today. :D Will order new chicks soon. April delivery I think or just go store and pick some out.
Last winter most my birds quit laying. There was 2 or 3 came back to laying after the molt. Also the new birds which was not many started to lay.
Anyway I havent had a egg since late last summer with all the raccoon problems.
The one chicken staying outside came back week ago and I have 1 other...
month 8 weeks it was for me. Black sunflower any thing higher in protien will help. Black sunflower seed should not be more than 10 or 15 percent of daily diet, high in fat also.
aside if its -5 degrees windchill -40 having them inside a building out of drafts and wind it will be -5. The point is to keep them out of the wind and drafts.
I have chickens in barn. Barn is 120 years old, but good shape. Yes the chickens do fine. Rooster may get some frostbite on comb. You may see bit other frostbite. They will be okay.
Have place they can roost.
MY barn is old, but windows all closed, no big drafts. Seals good.
If they are puffed...
it is hard to compete with corporate farming. With beef as high as it is if been in farming for awhile save on the beef. Chickens and pork tough to compete with mass production.
When I raised some pigs few years ago, did it for 3 years in a row. Save alittle money, but if want to start with...