Chickens killed with only heads eat

[Teeno]

Owls. Have to cover the pen with wire.

 

[Hahns4Chickens]

Same thing has been happening to us. We just lost our favorite Golden Comet. The head is cut clean off, no blood, no residue. We've had seven die all together. Do owls crawl into the brooder box? It's not a very big space. We live in Greensboro, NC

 

[Teeno]

My experience was in actually seeing a large owl lift off out of the chicken yard after leaving 4 or 5 young dead. It had happened several times, only the heads taken.

I'd suggest the only way to be sure is to pluck the dead birds and check their skins for wounds. The talons of the owl are easily seen in the skin, and so would the tooth marks of other predators. Perhaps your county extension could be helpful in identifying marks on the skins.

Weasels will certainly enter anywhere they can and are known to kill almost for pleasure, not eating what they kill but just killing. Covering the hen house with wire is the only thing I know that will keep out weasels. Cover the entire hen house, top and bottom - because predators burrow in from underneath - all sides including windows. They are dangerous animals and not afraid of much so I would not put the family dog at risk to guard the hen house either.

 

[luvdarun]

Found 13 chicks and mama silky gone this morning. Found 2 of the chicks and mama with their head eaten off. Makes me want to cry. I'm guessing a coon because only opening is a hole where the coop roof and mesh covering don't meet up. Have to close that up today. My son has set up 2 trail cameras...

 

[jtn42248]

Found 13 chicks and mama silky gone this morning. Found 2 of the chicks and mama with their head eaten off. Makes me want to cry. I'm guessing a coon because only opening is a hole where the coop roof and mesh covering don't meet up. Have to close that up today. My son has set up 2 trail cameras...

Yes raccoon. They will reach in, grab the bird by the head and pull. Once they have been there they will come back. A trail camera will only catch the act. You need to either set live traps and dispose of them that way or lay in wait with a gun. Don't think you can trap and re-home them. They will find there way back.

 

[farmthang]

I had something get into my parakeets bird cage, it ate the heads off of 2, just killed 2 more and left them In the cage and 1 was completely missing. Went out to my chicken coop and I was missing 3 chickens, found 1 dead but the other 2, gone... I have been trying to catch this thing for a month now to no avail... I set traps and it somehow manages to get in and out without setting the trap off.

 

[Chicky Chick 15]

I have had this same problem and I live in Florida, I lost all of my chickens twice. when I redid my fence it was dug down about 3 feet then put electric wire around the top and bottom of the pen. I have had this batch a little over a year without any problems. Hope this will help you.

 

[Sunshine42]

We found one of our Plymouth Barred Rocks without a head. It was a hawk and it was scared off by our dog before it could finish.

 

[chickbird]

Yes raccoon. They will reach in, grab the bird by the head and pull. Once they have been there they will come back. A trail camera will only catch the act. You need to either set live traps and dispose of them that way or lay in wait with a gun. Don't think you can trap and re-home them. They will find there way back.

PUT AN ELECTRIC FENCE AROUND YOUR PEN AND HAVE ALL WITH COVERED TOPS.

 

[luvmychixandducks]

I vote for raccoon or weasel.
My run was chain link with berry netting over the top and it had no tears - but I found a hen minus the head - and she was not near the edge but in the middle of the run.
Either she got their on her own minus her head - like the videos of chicken processing on internet - or a weasel killed her in the middle of the pen and left crawling under the coop.