Chickens killed with only heads eat

[16 paws]

1/4" welded wire mesh from four feet on walls, then two feet from floor on the ground. Same wire on floor and. All covered with river rock around edges of coop. Chicken wire covers all walls. Doors latch securely with 1/4" welded wire covering them. Snake proof. One little flaw--there is a 6" gap between roofs of coop and covered run. Only way in is through this gap from the top.

Something got in a small gap from the top and killed one of my silkies, still dont know what happened. I remember when I first got chickens, the guy from the feed store told me there is no such thing as a predator proof coop.
Something can always get in sometime....
Sorry for your loss. Fix that gap or it will happen again im afraid.

 

[AllynTal]

1/4" welded wire mesh from four feet on walls, then two feet from floor on the ground. Same wire on floor and. All covered with river rock around edges of coop. Chicken wire covers all walls. Doors latch securely with 1/4" welded wire covering them. Snake proof. One little flaw--there is a 6" gap between roofs of coop and covered run. Only way in is through this gap from the top.

Well, there's your answer. A 6-inch gap is a huge hole. I watched a full grown, well-fed raccoon wriggle her way through a less-than-3-inch gap above a door to get into a shed. I'm not saying for sure yours is a raccoon; I'm just saying a 6-inch gap is a huge hole that a plenty big predator can enter through. If you had seen the acrobatics that raccoon did to get herself to the gap and then to wriggle through it....

Close that gap securely because whatever it was, it knows where the buffet is now.

 

[jerrynesmith]

I will take your advice Allyn. Thank you for pointing out the obvious. I was a bit in shock after finding her in what is supposed to be a safe place.

I appreciate all of you for taking the time to thoughtfully respond.

 

[Allisha]

I would say owls, but I do not think an owl is your predator, due to where the chickens were found.

 

[apistos14]

Opinions welcome on this one. I have examined the cage for holes or damage and have found none. At the end I will post a picture of the coop and all of the action seems to be in one corner, the corner of death. The animal is taking off the toes of the babies and has killed two that look like the following pictures.

 

[centrarchid]

More details on where birds roost. Could you post a picture with birds roosting after dark?

 

[jerrynesmith]

The day after this post I stapled 1/2" welded wire fabric in the gap and have had no problems since. I also saw hen feathers in the gap, indicating that the predator had attempted to remove the bird, but the gap was too small.

A few days later it seemed apparent that a predator had tried to move the wire fabric, as it was slightly bent. So I am convinced it was a raccoon that killed my bird.

Thanks again for the good advice.
Jerry

 

[tcleeton]

I lost 16 chickens and 4 ducks this morning. They were scattered all over my yard with their heads missing. One duck, 3 babies and a barb wire whole bodies are missing. We have coyotes but I have never seen Owls and it happened at night so probably not a hawk. One animal could kill all of them, I dont know how I slept through this or why my dog wouldnt have barked???

 

[Allisha]

It could be a fox or coyote, maybe even a raccoon. If more than one body is missing, and all of your chickens and ducks were killed, it is not an owl, or any other bird of prey. Wouldn't be a mink or weasel, as whole bodies are missing, although they would kill everything in one go.

 

[MrDeMaistre]

Bit the chicken's heads off, eh? It's some heavy metal geek, I bet. Look for a shifty-eyed pencil-neck kid in a black t-shirt. There's yer man.