7 dead in 1 night

[rbigokie]

You have a coon problem or a house cat both will do the same kill for fun , cut the throats and heads off and not eat a one. I had that problem with a big Persian cat , killed 16 chickens in two nights.

 

[bsb2325]

Hello, last week we had lost 7 chickens in 1 night. Just their heads were gone. One was outside the coop, the other 6 were found in the coop partially burried under the bedding.

Today, i have seen a fox running around by our coop (middle of the day). Im curious if the fox could be the culprit to our dead chickens, or does it seem like we have more than 1 predator running around right now?

Most likely a raccoon. A fox will normally take a chicken and carry it off.

 

[Trevorusn]

I would agree with what many have already said, mink or raccoon. Time to up coop security, as minks can slink into most places and raccoons are tenacious and patient.

 

[glassdragonfly]

So sorry! I think raccoon! We have had several raccoon and fox attacks.Fox always takes what it kills unless interrupted.Raccoons will take head after head and leave the rest of the body. Opossum is usually caught cleaning up the mess.

 

[sorce]

Just remember whatever is doing it isn't expecting a human to come clean up their game later.

Leaving them doesn't necessarily mean sport.

Sorce

 

[princedj01]

You cannot rule out Groundhogs. We lost three in one night this week. We have A mature female, and every spring she has a litter of one or two then they move on. Groundhogs are vegetarians and do not eat chickens, however we have three dead chickens. one decapitated one buried, and the other was pulled by the head in to one of their tunnels underneath their roosting area but no real signs of injury. I posted pictures on another Thread about this question, and have come to the conclusion that the groundhog feels that the chickens are a threat now that it is time to raise her young. We know it was the groundhog and it's the only thing that makes sense.

 

[minaayindra]

We have every predator known to man up here in the mountains, including all of the ones named and probably a few more. I have had zero loss to predators because:
1. I went through the nightmare of covering every crack and crevice, as well as windows and vents, with 1/4" hardware cloth- doubling it over as needed for very tiny things that try to get in. Other than one mouse who entered through a crack I hadn't noticed in the nesting box lid, nothing has ever been able to get in. Forget my chickens taking him on, they just ran in the opposite direction!
2. I keep 1 rooster in with the big gals and placed the smaller hens next to a coop with guineas. There is NOTHING that can get past the guineas and they give plenty of warning if something might be coming.
3. I do not free-range, even though that was my initial plan- it is simply too dangerous here and all the plans in the world wouldn't prevent predation if they were out. We have hawks who will pick off chickens while the human is standing right with them and I'm pretty sure they would pay even less attention to a rooster. What we did do was put up a 10'x10'x10' kennel enclosure and place a cover over the roof to prevent flying predators from seeing them. I will go sit for a few hours with each group so they get their share of grass, bugs and sunshine- it is enjoyable for them and I love it too. It really gives you a chance to get to know them and their personalities!
I know many people want their birds to free-range and it would be lovely if I could, but any sign of a weasel is a death sentence to an insufficiently protected coop. Sorry for your loss-

 

[ellend]

You cannot rule out Groundhogs. We lost three in one night this week. We have A mature female, and every spring she has a litter of one or two then they move on. Groundhogs are vegetarians and do not eat chickens, however we have three dead chickens. one decapitated one buried, and the other was pulled by the head in to one of their tunnels underneath their roosting area but no real signs of injury. I posted pictures on another Thread about this question, and have come to the conclusion that the groundhog feels that the chickens are a threat now that it is time to raise her young. We know it was the groundhog and it's the only thing that makes sense.

My money is on rats dragging the chicken into the groundhog hole. Groundhog behavior is retreat from stressors, not aggression.

 

[Peepsi]

My money is on rats dragging the chicken into the groundhog hole. Groundhog behavior is retreat from stressors, not aggression.

This would be my assumption too, but eeesh, ever since I saw that article on the internet about documented cases of wild deer finding and *eating baby birds* from low nests in order to get protein, I don't doubt anything about nature.

 

[Trevorusn]

This would be my assumption too, but eeesh, ever since I saw that article on the internet about documented cases of wild deer finding and *eating baby birds* from low nests in order to get protein, I don't doubt anything about nature.

Who published the articles that document the deer eating young birds??