All my chickens dead?

[can you hear me now?]

Lol I was gonna ask what a stoat was too. Thanks for the answer.

 

[roostersandhens]

I am so sorry for all your losses. I know it's hard losing chickens. Ferrets and Weasels JUST eat the head. Almost always! I am pretty sure you have a ferret or weasel on your hands. =(
Good Luck!

 

[leghornfarm]

Sorry for your loss. Around here it would probably be a skunk or racoon. Set a trap, catch it, determine how to keep this from happening again, go get some more chickens and get back in the game.

 

[chiknducklings]

Same thing happened to me two years ago. I had a flock of 12 mixed breeds. They were either totally or partially decapitated .. in my case it was a raccoon-- nasty creatures that are very smart and kill for the fun of it!

 

[Cherterr]

Awwww.. that's so horrible... Sorry.

 

[chickydee64]

Some years ago, a racoon wiped my flock out...I founf the same thing, missing heads.some ripped open.
I am really sorry this happened to you.heart breaker for sure....................
Fix however it got in..............and do try again...helps the pain of losing them..............

 

[ChickaD7]

I had 6 Buff Orpingtons & 2 EE's up until last night. I came out this morning with my one decapitated with the body on the inside of the run and the rest hanging out. The second one my broody girl must have gotten injured enough that she went back upstairs to her nesting box and died. This was my first flock and the first deaths. So this has been a rough day. Whatever attacked them scared them enough by getting on top of our A-frame and got them to come downstairs to the run. There is not even a hole in the chicken wire. One of my other girls was with her in the box when I opened the coop up. Poor girls were making all kinds of noise, all besides themselves still hours later.

I was thinking about creating a closed door so if this happens again they can't go down to the run. But I know they love piling on top of each other hanging out the door at night. Would it be better to enclose them upstairs or create a wood border at the bottom so nothing can reach for them like that again? Thoughts?

 

[SilkieSensation]

I had 6 Buff Orpingtons & 2 EE's up until last night. I came out this morning with my one decapitated with the body on the inside of the run and the rest hanging out. The second one my broody girl must have gotten injured enough that she went back upstairs to her nesting box and died. This was my first flock and the first deaths. So this has been a rough day. Whatever attacked them scared them enough by getting on top of our A-frame and got them to come downstairs to the run. There is not even a hole in the chicken wire. One of my other girls was with her in the box when I opened the coop up. Poor girls were making all kinds of noise, all besides themselves still hours later.

I was thinking about creating a closed door so if this happens again they can't go down to the run. But I know they love piling on top of each other hanging out the door at night. Would it be better to enclose them upstairs or create a wood border at the bottom so nothing can reach for them like that again? Thoughts?

My birds all get completely locked inside wood & hardware cloth coops/pens at night for exactly this reason. For their own safety, get a door on that coop & lock them in at night.

 

[ChickaD7]

They were enclosed and locked in their coop. This is the coop we have. http://ana-white.com/2012/05/plans/frame-chicken-coop The door I refer to is the opening in the inside of the enclosure that they go upstairs and sleep. So that in the morning they can go down to the bottom still enclosed in the run safely in the morning until I come out and let them out to free range. Does that make sense? My thing was that the animal scared them down in to the enclosed run and it grabbed them through the small chicken wire wholes. The darn thing didn't even make a hole or break in!? I hope that gave you a better picture of what kind of enclosure I have.

 

[Den in Penn]

At the least replace the chicken wire with hardware cloth. It's stronger and the predators can't reach through it.