Can you identify the predator by pattern of attack and the poo?

[dalkeithowner]

We live in a suburban area and none of our neighbours who have lived here for 6+ years have seen foxes or any other predators. Our garden is fully fenced (2m high, rat most an inch or 2 space between the ground and the fence)

The garden is pretty bright due to street lighting being right above the chicken coop and even in winter it's not that rare that a chicken delves outside the coop at late - and dark hours. So I deemed my garden non-predator-threatened and left the chickens to roam freely over a fairly generous space partitioned by a non electrified electric fence - they never jumped that. The setup worked a treat for about 2 years.

Two days ago unfortunately all four chooks were killed by a predator - during day light. times. They were clearly chased over the garden, with plenty of feathers spread all around. All four had their heads bitten off or heavily mutilated, but otherwise seemed very much 'intact'.

I noticed a weird poo in the garden, it appeared to be a pretty much 90% earthworms seemingly undigested, stuck together by an extremely smelly black excretion. I unfortunately have no picture as whilst I got the camera, our dog decided that it was a perfect place to roll himself in.

I live in the Lothians in Scotland and believe we have badgers, foxes and martens in the wider area though as I said above it's still pretty urban where we live and none of my neighbours has seen any of the above within a mile or so from where we live.

Based on this info, is there any way to hazard a safe guess what predator could have done this?

 

[Heron's Nest Farm]

My first thought was a raccoon because they like to just eat the heads, but not during the day.

Undigested earthworms? That would make me think badger. "

1. Badgers are omnivorous, which means they will eat almost anything edible. The bulk of their diet is made up of earthworms (generally about 80%), but they will also eat small rodents, frogs and slugs, fruit, nuts, wheat, sweet corn and grubs.

Again, nocturnal.
Foxes:
They have very varied diet, Urban foxes also eat earthworms, insects, fruit and vegetables and a wide variety of both domestic wild birds and mammals. Insects include large numbers of beetles, cut worms (the larvae of noctuid moths, which they get off lawns on wet nights), and both larval and adult craneflies. Most of the birds they eat are feral pigeons and small garden birds, and the most frequently eaten mammals are generally field voles, abundant on allotments, railway lines and other grassy areas. So urban foxes really do have a good varied diet.
The above is from a UK site. I also read that they are mainly nocturnal, but are often seen in urban areas during the daylight. Trouble is I cannot see a fox eating just the head.

SO I believe it was a neighborhood dog. Once they kill one they often enjoy the thrill of another. A hungry wild animal would have eaten its prey for nourishment. Earthworm mystery? Maybe it was actually another form of worms. A tape worm leaves castings and will make an animal act a little crazy, although it is a symbiotic relationship for the most part. But other worms are pooped out and can really back up in the intestines. KEEP YOUR DOG AWAY FROM IT! You don't want to have to worm it.

Keep us posted. I really want to know the answer to your mystery.

 

[MysteriaSdrassa]

I would say fox or stray/wild dog. Fox will kill in batches, especially if they are feeding young. They kill as many as they can and then drag them off one by one. The missing heads/necks may just be the effect of the way foxes kill. the bite the neck of the bird and give it a quick shake, effectively snapping the neck. Sometimes the neck just seperates from the body because of this and is quickly eaten before making the next kill. Dogs kill in much the same way, but batch killing is more a sport thing to them. Foxes (and dogs) will kill during the day,, but foxes tend to USUALLY, not always though,,, usually hit during early morning or evening hours.
As far as the poo goes,,

the only thing I can offer on that is that dogs and foxes both use it as a way to mark their territory,, it's not just a pee on everything kinda thing, although urine marking is used more often.

 

[slingshotandLAR]

One thing to remember....

Just because predators mostly hunt at night does not mean they are strictly nocturnal. All the above hunt during the day as well.

If you can set a trap, maybe a live trap and use the dead chickens as bait you will catch what ever it is

 

[chickengeorgeto]

One thing to remember....

Just because predators mostly hunt at night does not mean they are strictly nocturnal. All the above hunt during the day as well.

If you can set a trap, maybe a live trap and use the dead chickens as bait you will catch what ever it is

My first thought was a raccoon because they like to just eat the heads, but not during the day.

Undigested earthworms? That would make me think badger. "

1. Badgers are omnivorous, which means they will eat almost anything edible. The bulk of their diet is made up of earthworms (generally about 80%), but they will also eat small rodents, frogs and slugs, fruit, nuts, wheat, sweet corn and grubs.

Again, nocturnal.
Foxes:
They have very varied diet, Urban foxes also eat earthworms, insects, fruit and vegetables and a wide variety of both domestic wild birds and mammals. Insects include large numbers of beetles, cut worms (the larvae of noctuid moths, which they get off lawns on wet nights), and both larval and adult craneflies. Most of the birds they eat are feral pigeons and small garden birds, and the most frequently eaten mammals are generally field voles, abundant on allotments, railway lines and other grassy areas. So urban foxes really do have a good varied diet.
The above is from a UK site. I also read that they are mainly nocturnal, but are often seen in urban areas during the daylight. Trouble is I cannot see a fox eating just the head.

SO I believe it was a neighborhood dog. Once they kill one they often enjoy the thrill of another. A hungry wild animal would have eaten its prey for nourishment. Earthworm mystery? Maybe it was actually another form of worms. A tape worm leaves castings and will make an animal act a little crazy, although it is a symbiotic relationship for the most part. But other worms are pooped out and can really back up in the intestines. KEEP YOUR DOG AWAY FROM IT! You don't want to have to worm it.

Keep us posted. I really want to know the answer to your mystery.

I would expect a pair of foxes to tote off at least one chicken because they are likely feeding kits at this time. The scene that the OP describes sounds more like a hound chase with fragments of chickens strewn over a wide area. Domestic dogs treat chickens like feathered squeaky toys and they loose interest quickly once the chicken stops running, squawking,and flopping around which just stimulates a dogs' hunting urges.

As far as i know the old world and new world badger is two very different animals and there are no raccoon living in Scotsland. But if you want to enlarge your predator gene pool let us Colonist know and we will give you some coons FOB.

 

[Heron's Nest Farm]

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