Do foxes leave feathers?

[huntersmoon]

I am feeling really guilty...I let my hens out yesterday as usual. I forgot to let them back into the coop at dusk and got to it a bit late. We were doing fireworks at our place and I got distracted. As I remembered and went to get them, I thought that foxes and coyotes were probably disrupted by the noise of all of the firework displays going on around us (we're on 14 acres and besides our own, there were 3-4 big neighborhood productions within eyesight plus 3-4 more random neighbor setups like ours, so it was a noisy night).

All but one came in, and for the other one I just saw feathers. Probably a dozen from big outer feathers to a couple of downy feathers. I assumed it was a fox but then realized in my experience the fox snatches and runs and there aren't usually feathers, whereas when hawks have attacked we usually see feathers where they land and rake the hen. (I'm reaching, because if it was a hawk, I won't feel so bad because that's part of the daytime risk of roaming.)

So in the vein of "what predator is this" do you find that to be pretty accurate? Or is that just wishful guilt-alleviating thoughts?

Thanks
Shannon
Austin TX

 

[cmom]

Yes, a fox will leave feathers. I saw the fox on a camera.

 

[roosterhavoc]

I am feeling really guilty...I let my hens out yesterday as usual. I forgot to let them back into the coop at dusk and got to it a bit late. We were doing fireworks at our place and I got distracted. As I remembered and went to get them, I thought that foxes and coyotes were probably disrupted by the noise of all of the firework displays going on around us (we're on 14 acres and besides our own, there were 3-4 big neighborhood productions within eyesight plus 3-4 more random neighbor setups like ours, so it was a noisy night).

All but one came in, and for the other one I just saw feathers. Probably a dozen from big outer feathers to a couple of downy feathers. I assumed it was a fox but then realized in my experience the fox snatches and runs and there aren't usually feathers, whereas when hawks have attacked we usually see feathers where they land and rake the hen. (I'm reaching, because if it was a hawk, I won't feel so bad because that's part of the daytime risk of roaming.)

So in the vein of "what predator is this" do you find that to be pretty accurate? Or is that just wishful guilt-alleviating thoughts?

Thanks
Shannon
Austin TX

Sometimes a fox will leave feathers and other times nothing at all. They don’t always get them on the first try which usually results in more feathers scattered as they get a better grip on the bird. Unfortunately I’ve seen it happen both ways.

 

[huntersmoon]

Thanks for the replies. I had hoped that with the few feathers she got away but did not find her earlier this morning. Definitely a lesson learned on my part .

 

[cmom]

I can understand your feelings. One of my birds that was killed, if I had left her in her pen while I was occupied she would be alive today. The others were different. Somehow it got a pen gate opened that was latched and the electric wire was on but knocked down next to the gate.

 

[cmom]

I went looking for the bodies but never found them.

 

[DellaMyDarling]

Yep, it's 50/50 with foxes.

 

[centrarchid]

What I look for when fox involved is what amounts to a trail of feathers that can be very sparse. The fox often has a hard time making kill quickly requiring multiple bites. The fox will often try to run some distance with a live bird and periodically put it down to bite again dislodging feathers in the process. In my setting the fox will dismember / dehead a larger bird after carrying it away from immediate vicinity of initial capture. In many instances the fox will leave a very weak trail of feathers ending in area where it dismembers carcass to cache parts in shallow holes to be accessed again later. My dogs are real good about finding those caches. Even small kills can leave feathers you can find assuming they do not blend with vegetation too well.

 

[cmom]

I haven't had any losses in several years. This year I had 3. One was my fault. Most of the time I have found some feathers. There has been a couple of time when the bird just disappeared. They were escape artists Houdini-1 and Houdini-2. They were White Leghorns and no matter what coop and pen I put them in, they would find a way to get out. I guess they got out one too many times.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

No matter how careful you are, there will always be losses. Don't beat yourself up too badly. I think predators are always out there, just waiting for that opportunity.