Could this be my chicken killer?

[McGobs]

2 days ago...we lost one of our white silkie chickens. No carcass...just a pile of feathers, and then a trail of feathers leading into the woods. This was in the middle of the day mind you...like 2:00 in the afternoon.

So we went out and bought a trap thinking a fox was stalking the chickens. Baited the trap and waited to see if we got lucky.

The next morning, I found we didn't catch a fox...but got a really rough lookin' cat. It's super ****** too. Hissin' and spittin' and the like . Not convinced this is what took my chicken...but its possible I guess.

I'm pretty sure its a stray cat. There are no tags or collars, and its in pretty rough shape. And all the neighbors I'm aware of, are dog people.

I mean..I don't think this thing would stand a chance against my full size Reds or Barred Rocks...but a bantam silkie that was trying to protect the 4 chicks following her around? (the silkie was a surrogate mom. She had just hatched 4 chicks 2.5 weeks ago.)

Anyone got any insight? Could this be my chicken killer?

 

[theoldchick]

I wouldn't be surprised. However, I wouldn't condemn the cat without actually seeing corroborating evidence. He could have been hunting mice and rats.

 

[McGobs]

oh I'm not the judge, jury or executioner. I just place the trap...and then call animal control to come take away whatever is inside it. Even if I had proof of it killing my chicken, I couldn't kill it. I'd like to say I would...but when it comes right down to it...I couldn't kill a cat or a dog. I have a hard enough time culling chickens.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

I really doubt that cat killed a grown chicken
I also would be amazed if you could catch a fox in that trap

 

[shmccarthy]

I've heard many stories of cats killing full grown chickens, I wouldn't be surprised at all.

 

[Farming Frenzy]

my chicken got eaten by a dog yesterday

RIP princess.she was a bantam too thinking that your neighbours are all dog people, could one of them have killed your chicken? ( the dog not the neighbour ) did you follow the trail? have a look whats at the end. any paw marks? or flattened grass that continues past the trail. ( that would be an animal that has flattened the long grass when walking ) set the trap near the end of the trail or any holes/dens that you find. or near the chicken coop. Sorry for your hen.

 

[McGobs]

I ruled out all the dogs around me(both neighbors and my 3)because we all have Shih Tzus(Seems odd to have a Shih Tzu commune doesn't it?). I did follow the trail as far as the feathers went(which was maybe 30-40 feet in, and then looked for prints everywhere. But that proved fruitless cause heavily wooded and not a lot of soft ground. I don't even leave prints unless I try too.

I did catch another mangy looking cat though. This one was smaller than the other one, short haired, and completely different colors. Probably not related, but makes me wonder how many **** cats are around here. There is a horse farm about a mile down the road, and rumor is all the stray cats used to get dropped off there to help them with their mice population. I hope thats still not the practice...but that could potentially be an issue for me.

I may end up investing in a bunch of traps of different sizes and just start leaving them around the property. No one told me how expensive chickens were when I started. Housing and feeding is one thing. Now I gotta pay for protection. Its like living with the mob. Wish I had known about this site before I jumped into this whole endeavor.

 

[199787]

Hard to say. My barn cat, which has been known to take down rabits, is terrified of the chickens. I wouldnt trust her around chicks, but she runs away from adult chickens. Putting out bAit could draw in any number of animals, culprit or not. They can smell it from a long ways away. Cats noses are supposedly far more sensitive than dogs even.

 

[blucoondawg]

I wouldn't doubt a cat killing a chicken one bit, especially a feral cat who may be very hungry, cats are killing machines they are very good at it and a silkie isn't exactly going to be tough to kill. I too highly doubt the likelihood of catching fox in a box trap, I have heard of a few grey fox caught that way but not a red, at least not in my area, fox are pretty smart critters, cats are dumb when it comes to trapping, even bobcat are quite stupid, and easy to catch compared to fox and coyote

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I wouldn't doubt a cat killing a chicken one bit, especially a feral cat who may be ...hungry... a silkie isn't exactly going to be tough to kill. I too highly doubt the likelihood of catching fox in a box trap, I have heard of a few grey fox caught that way but not a red, ...fox are pretty smart critters, cats are dumb when it comes to trapping, even bobcat are quite stupid, and easy to catch compared to fox and coyote

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