Daytime predator question

[cmom]

I can relate, when a fox took my very special hen during the middle of the day.

 

[Folly's place]

The camera is coming very soon!
Mary

 

[casportpony]

You all might wanna see this video:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hawk-eats-cheese-the-duck.1343413/

 

[jolenesdad]

Waaaaaaaaaa. I lost a chicken Christmas and couldn’t figure out why. I found just one clump of three feathers stuck together, making me think they’d been ripped out but this was a FULL sized chicken and it just seemed crazy that there was no other signs or additional feathers.

I’ve lived in this general area my entire life and saw something new today. THATS a bald eagle on my pond. That takes your breath away for multiple reasons!!

that thing is so huge, there’s no doubt it could take off with a Welsummer hen.

luckily I’ve got enough coop and run space to lock up for as long as needed. It’s got to be passing through....

 

[Folly's place]

I'm so sorry for your loss, it's hard.
Beautiful bird though! And very nice photo too.
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

Right now I'm swearing through the instructions for the game camera setup. Easy, right? I know why it's been here for months, and not installed by me...
Mary

 

[hayley3]

You all might wanna see this video:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hawk-eats-cheese-the-duck.1343413/

Nope I don't wanna see it...

Also I was reading this most informative article about hawks...something I never considered is, if you find feathers plucked with tiny bits of meat, the hawk didn't kill it.
Also they said there's a ring of feathers called a "fairy ring" when it's a hawk as long as the hawk is not interrupted.

 

[jolenesdad]

Nope I don't wanna see it...

Also I was reading this most informative article about hawks...something I never considered is, if you find feathers plucked with tiny bits of meat, the hawk didn't kill it.
Also they said there's a ring of feathers called a "fairy ring" when it's a hawk as long as the hawk is not interrupted.

From my experience feathers plucked from a hawk sometimes have the appearance of meat on them but it’s the entire follicle. That will cause them to stick together in small groups of feathers, but it’s not particularly meat attached. but they’re still sort of sticky as they were ripped out.... if that makes sense.

I have seen the ring twice. I usually see multiple piles where the hawk tries to move off with the prey. Other attacks leave loose shaken feathers from mammal predators, from what I have read here.

 

[hayley3]

I"m just gonna quote the article:

"All raptors, but especially red-tailed hawks and other buteos, feed on carrion. The plucked feathers can often indicate whether a raptor actually killed an animal or was simply “caught in the act” of feeding on a bird that died from other causes. Feathers that have small amounts of tissue clinging to their bases were plucked from a cold bird that died from another cause. If the base of a feather is smooth and clean, the bird was plucked shortly after it was killed. Raptors often defecate at a kill site. "

Brian E. Washburn Research Wildlife Biologist USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services National Wildlife Research Center

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Here I would suspect a coyote. The one year we had troubles with one it would carry them off a ways, but not too far, and would eat most of it, than it would come back for more. The other day time predator was a hawk. Those will eat most of the bird from head down and leave the feet and legs.