Feathers everywhere!!

[s6bee]

Yesterday I went to the barn where I keep our horses and there were what we believed to be chicken feathers from the chickens next door. However there was nothing else ( no bones, meat, etc. ) but I swear the whole thing must have been plucked thoroughly at the scene of the crime. Our question is, what would leave nothing but feathers? The owners want to know if the barn cats did it or a fox? It was done right outside the barn door so that worries me that the fox is that close to the horses.

 

[Buff Hooligans]

I'm thinking hawk. When they catch mourning doves near our feeder, they pluck & eat what they can, then fly off with whatever's left of the body.

 

[CUDA]

It could be a coon, dog, fox etc... Any of these will consume the whole bird, and leave a pile of feathers. If it was in your barn, and you have a dog, I would look there first...

 

[wynedot55]

as said with feathers scattered about it could be anything.but whatever it is its taking the carcess off.

 

[d.k]

*I'd say hawk, too, having seen one take a dove from the tree while we were out there. No blood, no bone, just feathers left under the tree-- because she carried the whole dove off, probably to teach babies how to eat it.

 

[Red]

A fox killed our 3 BOs and all it left was about a million feathers scattered round the garden

 

[SpottedCrow]

Hawk...I just picked up the remains yesterday of his meal of BlueJay Special

 

[Gindee77]

Definitely hawk! Don't worry about a fox around your horses. Unless you have tiny little miniature horses. Or extremely spooky horses. I've seen a horse kick a fox across the paddock!

 

[s6bee]

It certainly wasn't the owners dog ( this was at a horse boarding facility). He's really, really old and doesn't go to the barn anyway.
We do have a good amount of hawks in the area, so that could be it.
The horses had to pass the pile of feathers to go to the paddocks and they are all so inquisative about them....snorting, smelling, etc.