Anyone good at analyzing foot prints to identify predators?

[bruceha2000]

Yep

 

[BackyardJulz]

I see lots of bunnies, ‘dog’ (could be dog, coyote or fox) loping, also trotting or walking, but really, as others have stated, pics of the actual paw prints will help.

I don’t see tail trails amongst the footprints- wouldn’t a raccoon leave some marks in that depth of snow?

We have a lot of critter problems here, so I am curious to hear more ideas, learn something new.

 

[hayley3]

I would think prints from an animal running might be different than one that is walking.
I would never suspect a raccoon during this time of year but maybe the crazy weather has them messed up.
According to poultryextension.org, biting off the head is the MO of a raccoon, owl or hawk. At-dusk-attacks are normally raccoon but I suppose an owl could come out early...don't know much about owls.

 

[aart]

Can't imagine anything much smaller than a coyote carrying off a duck with leaving drags marks from carcass.

 

[bfc chicks]

Thought I saw rabbit and cat but couldnt tell. I have had coon and possum getting my ducks, they where disappearing one at a time. Started letting my aussies out at night things stopped for a while then found a hen dead in the hen house, didn't see any thing wrong with her. Next morning 2. Next morning a guinae, then realized that every night the aussies would raise a ruckus and I'd let them out I'd find a dead bird. Called the game warden and he said that it must have been a bird disease. So told my buddy, he said a weasel or a mink. He taught me how to set a trap so set it at 10:00pm next morning at 4:00am there was a big 12 inch body lenght, not including the tail, weasel dead in the trap. Ask the game warden why it was so big, he said no body's trapping them anymore. No more dead birds.

 

[bruceha2000]

Gee, nice of the game warden to GUESS that the birds were dying from disease rather than looking for signs of a predator. Another reason the weasel might be so big is it was eating well!!

 

[bernie131]

The coon could've chased the one duck away from the pool and then caught it. Coons can run fast. It will be back for your other duck...

What about carrying it over a 3ft fence, they made it over that fence but I have 4 to 5ft height fencing around my yard but of course they are found little holes to get threw them, but my Pekin was very heavy,..such a misfortune

 

[hayley3]

It's really a guessing game unless you see the culprit in action.
I thought a fox got my chicken because we didn't see one feather on the ground and she was missing. The realtor had taken pictures around noon that day of all the chickens and she was in the picture. We were outside most of the time that day but when we checked at 4pm she was gone. However, a few days later we smelled something dead and realized she had not been taken after all, she was dragged to a brushy area near the fenceline, which I now attribute to the coons, because I had seen them out in daylight a few days before. First time in 25 years that something had come inside the fence in broad daylight to get one of my chickens. However, I had goats all that time and I do believe that they helped protect them, merely by grazing alongside the chickens.

 

[featherhead007]

I followed some train tracks once, but didn't find any train on it!
but seriously, so sorry for your losses, due to predators.

 

[bruceha2000]

Probably a good thing @featherhead007, I hope you were looking both ahead AND behind on those tracks.