dead hen

[snowstar5]

I found my hen dead yesterday in a ditch by my barn. her head was missing but there was no blood. to day her body was torn open more so something is coming and eating it. yesterday I did find a paw print but there was none today. the paw print looked like a fox, coyote, or a raccoon. so do you guys have any idea of what it is and how to stop it?

 

[sourland]

Do you have a box trap (have a heart or live trap)? If so, secure part of the dead hen in the trap and await the return of the predator. It could be any of a wide range of predators including possibly a raptor. Good luck at solving this mystery.

 

[mudd32]

the head missing sounds like a mink or weasel.
the tracks on the other hand sound like something differant.
live trap with remains should catch it pretty quick.
good luck...hope you catch...and more importantly kill the little sob that did it.

 

[songbird]

Opossums do that. They like crunchy things (skulls, for example.). They are not able to carry the body away as a fox would, so they stash the body near where they killed it. One came into our hen house, killed my fat little bantam, ate her head, then stashed her body under the hen house. Then it went back in to finish eating her eggs. That is when my husband found the horrid thing still with Clover's blood all over its chin.
Rat bait did the trick. Took 2 days. But of course the horror never goes away

 

[blythspirit]

This makes me so sad...I love my little ones and cannot imagine going through...wondering what got my girls. I had a hard enough time when 1 of my girls died of natural causes...not having her head eaten off in the night by some varmit...so sorry for all your losses.

 

[snowstar5]

Thank you all I will try setting a live trap. all I know is that there are no foxes around. but I still don't know why they got her. all I know is that she got dug from my barn to a ditch but ill try.

 

[salt and pepper]

Thank you all I will try setting a live trap. all I know is that there are no foxes around. but I still don't know why they got her. all I know is that she got dug from my barn to a ditch but ill try.

It sounds like an opossum, We have lots around here, and the love the heads, and sunce they aren't large, will continue to come back to finish eating their catch. Its that or a raptor.

 

[shmccarthy]

Did you have a picture of the paw print?

 

[grandpaw roo]

Yep,a pic of the print would help.Often one animal kills and can't eat the whole chicken.Smell of blood usually atracks other species then.

 

[shmccarthy]

Whatever was eating on it, will most likely be back too.