2nd kill, carcass 20 feet up tree

[coach723]

You can also spread flour or cornstarch around to try to pick up some prints, especially if the ground is not conducive to leaving them. Hope you get some pictures.

 

[2 many chickens]

I'm gonna be different and say this was an owl.

 

[BreanneRN]

It does look a long ways up that tree... Could the animal have used the tree to get in and out of the coop?

 

[Cod]

Great ideas, thank you! I have spread flour at the base of the tree and pointed a game cam up towards the carcass.

Yes, I do believe the tree is like nature's escalator to a buffet.

 

[BreanneRN]

We always like to assume everything is full size, but it could be a young mountain lion or cat just getting started on their own. Tis the season. That is pretty far up the tree. Thinking you need one of those remote cameras with flash to get a mug shot of this thief. You know he is going to come back, so secure your run. I had a mountain lion some years ago come and start killing my sheep, but he had to be fully mature to do that. Sheep weighed 200 lbs. I am thinking this is a young cat, if you saw him you might not recognize him, as young mountain lions have stripes. Is it possibly using the tree to access the run and exit it?

 

[Cod]

I am certain it's using the tree to access the run. I have advised my neighbor to move the run. Unfortunately, the tree is only a few feet from my own henhouse.

 

[2 many chickens]

Does the run have a net over it? Maybe add one. I have a thick one over mine and nothing's breached yet.

 

[lazy gardener]

I think you have a wild cat of sorts. I am doubting coon.

 

[aart]

Guessing bobcat or lynx...not sure mountain lions are this far east,
plus too big to fit in dollhouse coop.

If you want to learn about mountain lions in the US, read this book, it's excellent:
Heart of a Lion: A Lone Cat's Walk Across America by William Stolzenberg

 

[BreanneRN]

Traditionally not, I guess, but I understand you have a serious deer problem... Might be just a matter of time. I got to know a little about them after one started killing my sheep as close as 25 ft from my house on a 2 acre lot. They are elusive creatures, silent stalkers, my dogs would bark when the lion would show up, but then would be very, very quiet. They did not mess with him, which I am glad for, as they are still with me. Killed 3 sheep in all, a few days apart. 3rd one, I reported to fish and game. I didn't have any chickens then, just a large emu bird, which he left alone. Had to confine my remaining sheep in a chicken coop (it was a really good clamp together 6 ft tall dog kennel that I had custom made when I was raising dogs). Might read that book sometime, though the title makes it sound like a it might be a somewhat romantic view.