18 Chickens killed

[HighNDryFarm]

First time poster to this forum but have been reading for the last year. I have raised chickens on and off for the last 25 years but what I woke up to this morning was a first....all 18 of my chickens were dead. In a well secured coop. Several missing heads, no blood and piled in a corner of the coop. I have double fencing on the bottom (to keep the young one's in) and fencing about 10 foot tall, mostly covered but not completely. While there are feathers everywhere there are no overturned feeders, waterers, feed can's, a ladder holding up top fencing......my rooster "Big Daddy" a beautiful silver Americanaus survived but has run the property all day looking for his girls...even layed down next to my lab today he was so lonely.

Has anyone seen anything like this? Fish and game doesn't think a racoon would do this and says it's unusual for a "cat" to not eat any.....I'm just devestaded. Sorry to introduce myself this way....

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

So Sorry

I would guess weasel but am no expert.

 

[AZBootsie]

I am soo sorry. Wish I had advice or insight for you, but honestly I don't know what could have gotten them. There are lots of smart folks here, maybe someone else will have a clue.
Watch your roo incase it decides to come back for him.

wish it was under happier circumstances.

 

[jemmasgrandma]

Sorry...

 

[woodmort]

Sorry about your losses, been there. I'd say a weasel or mink--the former can get through a 1 inch hole. I had a similar experience last spring and lost 12/18 of mine--first time after 25 years of keeping chickens as well. The weasel, which I later trapped, got in through a hole under the door that had been chewed by mice.

BTW, you'll get more answers on this if you were to post it on the Predator section. I'll contact the mediators so they'll move it for you.

 

[jasonm11]

missing heads and no blood? Did you or the chickens upset a neighbor? Sorry to hear of the loss, it has to be painful.

 

[dolly85]

When I was younger and still living with my parents (8 years, gosh I feel old now!) we had a something break into our coup and kill 24 chickens. It took every single chickens head off and didn't eat anything else. It was horrible, devastating, and disgusting. I couldn't bring myself to own chickens for 3-4 years after this attack the loss was so horrible for me. We lived out in the boonies back then, and the coup was pretty secure so I'm thinking it must have been something small. A weasel was a likely culprit but maybe a smart skunk, raccoon or fisher. Whatever it was hunted at night and had a MEAN streak. My dad though it was the weasel or the fisher as they are the animals known around here to kill just for fun. So sorry for your loss.

This first link has a list of predators and their killing habits. Fishers are near the bottom and fit your description perfectly.

http://www.raising-chickens.org/chicken-predators.html

This next one has good info about the habits and location of fishers.

http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/wildlife/living/living_with_fisher.htm


I'd like to add that this was pretty obviously not done by a human. Whatever got into your coup went into a killing frenzy and as your chickens piled in a corner trying to get away and stay safe the culprit just picked them off one by one. A human wouldn't slit necks and take a few randoms heads......

 

[AlabamaChickenLady]

So sorry for your loss!!

Just a thought... do you have locks on your coop? Any chance the attacker was human? Wrong time of the year for snakes, and rats would be my only other thought since they can fit thru smaller than average holes. But even that don't make sinse. Could they have been huddled together for warmth and just froze to death while they slept?

Again, So sorry for your loss!

 

[chicknduck]

So sorry. That is terrible.

 

[sourland]

Sorry that your initial post has to be like this. Since they were "stockpiled" I'm guessing a member of the weasel family; i.e., a mink, fisher, weasel depending upon where you live. Bait a live trap with one of the chickens, and you should catch the culprit. It will return.