EMERGENCY!!!! HEADLESS DEAD CHICKENS!!!!! Warning, picture included.

[Sonya9]

Did the birds sleep out there at night? They are right next to the fence, guessing something (i.e. racoon) may have reached through the fence and grabbed them.

 

[seth22]

Spoke to my dad after I posted this. For those that don't already know, he told me owls n coons like to eat just the heads. We have an owl that flies around sometimes so it made sense to me that's the culprit. Hard part is gonna be killin it cuz I'm not staying up all night to wait for it. Predators are probly the only bad thing about free ranging your animals. Had a chicken hawk take one a few months back.

 

[seth22]

Did the birds sleep out there at night? They are right next to the fence, guessing something (i.e. racoon) may have reached through the fence and grabbed them.

No they sleep in a box. You can't even stick a pinky through the fencing I have on the coop. However, there was an open space on top. That's probly how the owl got in.

 

[Playfulroost]

Your predator will be back, if not tonight then tomorrow. Once a predator has found an easy meal buffet with little effort, they will return until all your chickens are gone. You need to take action now. Maybe even observe from a distance. Or use a nanny cam. Once you know which predator you are dealing with, you can research it and know exactly what to do. Read every predator post on this site for ideas as to what worked.
One thing I tried with success against a coyote that killed 6 of my birds in 24 hours was play music on a radio 24/7 in the chicken yard. It was easy and worked like a charm. I had no more losses that season. The birds loved it! It tricks the predator into thinking you are in the coop.
The urine trick was also helpful. I recommend placing another six foot fence around the perimeter of your overnight area, a fenced yard, if you have the space. If a predator wants our birds, they will get them. All we can do is make it difficult and hope they move on to easier prey.

 

[Playfulroost]

Spoke to my dad after I posted this. For those that don't already know, he told me owls n coons like to eat just the heads. We have an owl that flies around sometimes so it made sense to me that's the culprit. Hard part is gonna be killin it cuz I'm not staying up all night to wait for it. Predators are probly the only bad thing about free ranging your animals. Had a chicken hawk take one a few months back.

 

[Sonya9]

Spoke to my dad after I posted this. For those that don't already know, he told me owls n coons like to eat just the heads. We have an owl that flies around sometimes so it made sense to me that's the culprit. Hard part is gonna be killin it cuz I'm not staying up all night to wait for it. Predators are probly the only bad thing about free ranging your animals. Had a chicken hawk take one a few months back.

Are you saying you are going to kill the owl instead of closing the hole in the hen house?

Surely I must have misunderstood and that isn't what you meant.

 

[Rooapalooza]

Spoke to my dad after I posted this. For those that don't already know, he told me owls n coons like to eat just the heads. We have an owl that flies around sometimes so it made sense to me that's the culprit. Hard part is gonna be killin it cuz I'm not staying up all night to wait for it. Predators are probly the only bad thing about free ranging your animals. Had a chicken hawk take one a few months back.

You can't just kill owls or hawks. You'd have to look it up in your area but I can almost guarantee you that the fines are insanely high. You can call your local game warden and see what your options are and aren't.

Anyway I've had a similar attack happen and in my case it was foxes. I wouldn't expect an owl to kill so many at one time; they typically don't hang around that long or kill for fun like that. If you really just have one smallish hole at the very top of your coop I would guess a raccoon.

 

[cmom]

It's illegal to kill a bird of prey. I recently caught an owl that had killed some of my birds. I have netting over my pens. I ran short of the good netting and bought some that wasn't what I thought it was but put it up anyway. I thought it would deter any aerial predators, wrong. The owl went through the netting three times. Each time I replaced the piece. I then bought some good heavy duty netting and this time the owl got caught in the netting. We got it into a cage and called some wildlife rescue and they came and got it. I put a camera up. This is the owl going through the crappy netting.

 

[seth22]

Are you saying you are going to kill the owl instead of closing the hole in the hen house?

Surely I must have misunderstood and that isn't what you meant.

The hole is closed and yes, me or my neighbor will kill the owl. We both have chickens, he's lost a couple too.
And yes it legal to kill predators in my area if they are killing livestock. I spoke to the Game Wardens when we had a hawk problem.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Its as gruesome as it sounds. In the past month I've lost 7 chickens and only found 3, dead in the coop. The weird ones are the last 2 I found today inside the coop. They were partly skinned and nothing missing but their heads! Its so weird, I have no idea whats going on! And yes the coop was secure n nothing broke the coop or burrowed in that I can see.

Have you made any changes in your management after each attack?