Bobcat maybe? What steals hens and leaves NO trace AT ALL??

[kristenm1975]

Whoa, ChanceRider, what a freaky story! A creature that unafraid of a human sounds very dangerous. I live on an island where the largest predators are the sailors from the naval base close by, LOL. I don't suppose they'll be stealing my chickens anytime soon though.

We do have coyotes around my place, and I too have lost two hens with not a sound, feather, or drop of blood. No footprints, no trace at all. The only reason I even suspect coyote is that I saw a large one skulking around the perimeter of my huge yard the same day the two hens didn't come home.

Oddly, out of the 20 hens free-ranging that morning, the only two taken were the only two who happened to be laying eggs.

As if it wasn't bad enough to lose the hens.

Hope you can figure out what's getting your girls and keep them away from here on out.

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

i love how you cant even get DNR or a pest control service to answer the phone on a freaking MONDAY!

 

[kaytlynng123]

it could be anything

 

[Suellyn]

Groundhogs are vegetarians, but they CAN carry parasites & stuff so I probably wouldn't want one under my coop.

Most wild animals are nervous around humans & would very naturally want to grab a meal then run off to where they feel "safe" to eat at their leisure or share with mate/offspring.

Bobcats are not usually that brazen/bold, so, no, I wouldn't rule it out.

Wouldn't rule out dogs, either....

So I guess we're back to "could have been anything big enough to carry a chicken!"...

 

[sunnychooks]

I would guess you have a fox. I've had fox attacks and they leave NOTHING! Not a feather anywhere. They are extremely brazen. I've seen them try to attack my chickens in the middle of the day and I had one that wasn't even afraid of me. I'd go to chase him off and he would stand there and look at me until I got close enough for him to turn and trot off into the woods.

 

[rufus]

My money is on couger. Probably a young one that is just getting his territory staked out. Kills with the first bite, no fuss, no mess.

If so, things will get progessively worse.

When I was young, I always thought about putting a bullet into those glaring eyes shinning back at me in the dark. Never did though.

Rufus

 

[Opa]

This time of year none of the predators will have little ones except the two legged variety. Woodchuck are strictly vegeterains so the biggest problem with them is the holes they dig. Often these are taken over by skunks which to eat chickens. Woodchucks also makes for some pretty good eating.

 

[TexasVet]

My guess is racoon. I just lost a bunch of hens and chicks the same way. No feathers, no carcass, nothing. I was at the point of thinking neighbors were stealing them.

After setting my trap, I caught two huge (I mean 15+ pounds each) raccoons and then a possum in three days.

If you have a racoon problem, it's probably more than one. So be sure to keep the trap set for a few days.

There's a link to a "who dun it" paper here: http://www.countrychickens.com/country_chickens_4_006.htm

Kathy in Texas

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

we found a bunch of raccoon tracks today also some near feathers with meat on the end of them

 

[ruth]

We had a bobcat coming out of woods, into our yard area and grabbing a chicken and even a roo once - every day - during the day - till it had gotten about 6 birds - some left no sign, some left a few feathers. We didn't know what it could be since we have 4 dogs who patrol our property but knew they picked up the scent of something many times every day and went barking and charging into the woods, always at the same place and taking the same path - so they smelled it many times a day and did the chase thing but it would come back and wait till they had gone to front of house or somewhere else and it would run up and grab a bird. DH finally walked up on the bobcat in our barn one morning about 10:00 a.m. We kept our birds penned up for the next two weeks and for the first week the dogs still did their scent/run/bark thing. So far, it hasn't been back but it is hunting season here and the woods around our home are filled with hunters and gunshots. I'm hoping someone shot it or the shots have scared it off.

But yes, a bobcat will bide it's time and grab and run off with a bird and will do it in broad daylight and may not leave so much as a feather. It's large enough to grab the bird and run - there is no struggle. Sometimes the only feathers we found were in the brush of the woods where it drug across weeds or thickets as the bobcat ran with it.