Any ideas on culprit?

[jolly wattles]

Last night my wife locked the girls in with one still in the nest box laying which is in the coop. This morning she went to go let them out and the one that was in the nest box was dead just out side of the box. Her side and stoMach eaten. Just a few feathers scathered about. None of the other girls were harmed and no evidence of entry. Any ideas what it was? Possum?

 

[jolly wattles]

What did you do with the possum?

I hear people in the South make possum soup

9mm to the head. Took it to a back field now the buzzards are taking care of the rest.

 

[jolly wattles]

Guess it wasn't the weasel.

 

[jolly wattles]

I'm not clear on how the possum got into the coop. I understand it dug under the run fence but did you leave the pop door open at night and it entered there or some other way.

Edit to add. Maybe it's a dirt floor coop and the possum again dug under that wall?

Yes we leave the poop door open cause that side of the coop is only accessed from the secure run. I didn't think that a predator could go from one side of the coop cause it sits on 4x4s. But it's a old shed so maybe some of the 4x4s have rotted creating a passage. Either way I now have a skirt of hardwire around the bottom.

 

[jolly wattles]

Okay I hope you did it far from your property a dead carcass is only going to attract more predators.

I have 4 acres. I'm deep in country surrounded by farm land on every side with my woods in between. I know about carcasses and not by my doing but there's always something dead somewhere when you live in the country. Never had a predator problem that attacked before. We have coyotes the run through our property and many other predators constantly. This possum was the first to make a attempt. And he only got 1 hen cause she was in the nesting box laying when wife locked up the coop.

 

[lazy gardener]

More info about coop set up: obviously a predator was able to get in. How did the predator do so? Do you use chicken wire, leave pop door open, have any "holes" or rotten/poorly attached siding? Coon, possum, rat...

 

[matmah50]

If there was no evidence of entry you may want to check under the coup and make sure there are no rats or Weasels they can dig from under and fit in the smallest places. Sorry to hear that you lost her.

 

[matmah50]

I have heavy wire under my coup that may be something to consider

 

[Howard E]

Possum or skunk. Set up a live trap outside the coop using cat food for bait.

 

[jolly wattles]

Possum or skunk. Set up a live trap outside the coop using cat food for bait.

Seems to may have been a weasel. I was out of town working and last week wife said she thought she saw a beaver come out of the woods (she's a city girl). Today I had her Google a weasel and she said that's what she saw. I noticed a couple digs around the unsecured run so I think it was getting under the coop ( 8x8 old wood shed) and coming out into the secured run and up the ramp into the coop. Some hardwire cloth installed now and a live trap I put where it was digging under the unsecured run fence. We will see what happens. Thanks for all the advice yall.