Chickens killed, neck eaten

[seatweaver]

We lost two of our hens this evening to a predator, that I'm guessing is a weasel of some kind.
I had been working in the fenced back yard where the chickens were all day. I left less than two hours before sun set. Upon my return home maybe a half an hour after sunset, I discovered that I was missing three hens. Searching the back yard and deck and discovered one barred Plymouth Rock hen on the ground dead. The hens head was tucked under her wing, there were no obvious signs of trauma, except from a little blood on her beak. I found a second hen dead nearby in the crawl space below the deck. The hens neck and crop had been eaten. I found a third Rhode Island Red hen hiding in between furniture below the same deck. She appeared to be terrified, but unharmed.

I had been away for approximately two hours when this attack occurred.
I have included photographs. I would welcome anyone's guess what type of predator did this.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I can assure you to within 99.999% that the culprit was a hawk, likely a Coopers hawk. Well so much for the advice about having something handy for your hens to hide under. Hawks don't drop out of a clear sky to nab a chicken dinner. Normally a foot race is involved and the fence around an open chicken run or walk only results in a nifty barrier for a hungry hawk to pin or corner his supper against.

 

[GreenbrierChickens]

I had this happen too. I believe it was a hawk or owl. Was not dragged off, and only feathers plucked and neck eaten.

 

[seatweaver]

I can assure you to within 99.999% that the culprit was a hawk, likely a Coopers hawk. Well so much for the advice about having something handy for your hens to hide under. Hawks don't drop out of a clear sky to nab a chicken dinner. Normally a foot race is involved and the fence around an open chicken run or walk only results in a nifty barrier for a hungry hawk to pin or corner his supper against.

Would a hawk or other bird of prey go under a crawl space where the one partially eaten chicken was found? I have two roosters in the yard, a barred rock and a large Rhode Island red. Neither appeared to have been injured.

 

[LittleCheepers]

Would a hawk or other bird of prey go under a crawl space where the one partially eaten chicken was found? I have two roosters in the yard, a barred rock and a large Rhode Island red. Neither appeared to have been injured.

Unfortunately, we have an ongoing problem with squirrels in our attic. Last summer a hawk started hanging around and he actually went inside the attic through the small hole the squirrels had made and apparently killed all of them that were in there because we didn’t hear any squirrels at all for several months after that. I wish he would come back! Anyway, I said all that to say that hawks will apparently go wherever they need to go to catch their dinner. And I am SO sorry for the loss of your sweet hens.

 

[Howard E]

I agree it was a bird of prey, but pattern of kill comes closer to an owl than a hawk. Owls go for the head and neck......hawks the breast meat or skeletal meat of the entire bird. Being close to dusk, it could easily have been an owl

I noticed something like that last fall.......right around dusk, silently shot past a bird feeder I had up.......and remember thinking it was about the size of one of those flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz........or a Cessna 170. It was big. And it was still light enough I could see it. Only thing we have around here that matches that size are owls and eagles and it wasn't an eagle.

 

[seatweaver]

Thanks for the replies. I was thinking a mink, but from the replies it may be a bird of prey. I hear owls hoot all of the time from the woods around our farm. I will be checking the one hen that was killed, but not eaten for bite marks in an effort to determine what killed her.

 

[sourland]

Would a hawk or other bird of prey go under a crawl space where the one partially eaten chicken was found? I have two roosters in the yard, a barred rock and a large Rhode Island red. Neither appeared to have been injured.

When in 'kill mode' raptors will pursue their prey anywhere. I have had hawks and on one occasion a Great Horned Owl enter coops/lofts after my birds. In my experience an owl would have been more likely to have eaten the head first for the high nutrient brains. I'm guessing a mid sized hawk like a Cooper's.

 

[seatweaver]

Again, thanks for everyone's input. It has been very helpful. After speaking with friends who have raised chickens for years and the responses I got here I agree that the predator was apparently a large bird of prey; hawk or owl.
I examined the scene this morning and discovered a collection of Barred Rock feathers on the ground at the fence line near the deck. This was most likely where the she was first attacked. She apparently ran towards the deck at some point after the attack. It appears that the Rhode Island Red was attacked and killed below the deck where they normally go for shelter. An examination of the hens revealed both of their necks were broken at the base.
Sorry for getting a little carried away, I am a retired crime scene investigator and like to find answers to things like this so I can better protect my chickens.

 

[tommywhaleboy]

We lost two of our hens this evening to a predator, that I'm guessing is a weasel of some kind.
I had been working in the fenced back yard where the chickens were all day. I left less than two hours before sun set. Upon my return home maybe a half an hour after sunset, I discovered that I was missing three hens. Searching the back yard and deck and discovered one barred Plymouth Rock hen on the ground dead. The hens head was tucked under her wing, there were no obvious signs of trauma, except from a little blood on her beak. I found a second hen dead nearby in the crawl space below the deck. The hens neck and crop had been eaten. I found a third Rhode Island Red hen hiding in between furniture below the same deck. She appeared to be terrified, but unharmed.

I had been away for approximately two hours when this attack occurred.
I have included photographs. I would welcome anyone's guess what type of predator did this.View attachment 1256614

I had a hen killed that looks a lot like this also. All the feathers were stripped from the neck, i think the neck meat was eaten, and one bloody spot on the breast. But the bulk of the bird was not eaten. I found it when i went out to check on them about two hours after sundown, hadnt been out that day. Bird was dead right outside the automatic door. Perhaps the door closed before she came in and she was fussing around at the closed door when something got her. I thought it might be feral cat for the following reason. That night, I put the carcass in a havahart trap large enough for a raccoon, trying to see if the killer would come back to finish the meal. The next morning, there was a cat without a collar in the trap with the dead bird. I couldn't prove guilt so I didn't kill the cat, eventually let it go. Maybe it was a neighbor's cat. But Cooper's hawks are relatively common around here; I've seen one perched on top of a phone pole plucking a dead songbird out in front of my house. My chicken run has plastic mesh over the top, but there are certainly enough gaps for a cooper's hawk to get through; they can fly through dense woodlands. So why would a hawk just eat the neck and then leave? Do they not carry away the prey? Maybe she was too heavy. A cooper's hawk isn't huge, really about chicken sized, just more streamlined, the ones I've seen. There are also numerous raccoons and opossums around here, but when coons have gotten into my coop they just completely tear the birds apart.