Chick dead... whatever killed it had a delicate appetite.

[Anne]

I have a mama hen with 7 chicks (used to be 8). They hide somewhere in our yard at night. I can't for the life of me figure out where they go. The chicks are about 3 weeks old.

Yesterday morning I noticed that a chick was missing. That afternoon I found it by the garden, dead. It was mostly intact, with the exception of: The throat was eaten out, the flesh of one wing was eaten (leaving only the bones) and the flesh of one leg was eaten (leaving only the bones).

I'm not sure what sort of animal would kill a chick yet have such a diminutive appetite. Any ideas?

 

[Imp]

Sounds like something small. Maybe rat? I would think a cat would have eaten the abdomen first.
Sorry you lost it

Imp

 

[underground chickenman]

Sounds like a chick died and was partially eaten by a small scavenger. From your description of what was eaten, it sounds like it was eaten by something too small to kill it. Just a guess.

 

[nancysmith2]

If you did not notice until mid morning it could have been an interrupted hawk. I had a similar thing happen. Hawk got interrupted and did not finish. The second time he ate an entire chicken. Beware of hawks and baby chicks. Mine were actually 16 wks old at the time. Lesson learned.

 

[NarutoTn]

it is most likely fereal cats