Follow up on what animal did this

[Crystalchic]

here's the story
My ten year old came into the house at 7 am and told me that the roo was dead and that its head was missing
my groundskeeper and husband lied to me and said that it wasnt missing
that he believed our dog did it because of the way my dog is acting today
Well i told my husband that the forum wanted to see a picture of the rooster
I had to threaten him with stuff to take the pictures so that i could post it
he took the pictures and then said that he needed to talk to me
he told me that I get sick very easy,and that he was afraid that i wouldnt eat for another week again cause gross stuff like that does that to me, but he told me that the head is completely gone and that they cant find it
i do not believe that my dog did this
i believe that it was a coon
if i get my husband to post the picture on the forum can you tell by the picture if it was a coon

 

[Crystalchic]

and if it was a coon or another animal would it come back again

 

[FlashPointFarm]

yes it will, free chicken snacks. You could try putting a hot wire around the coop, that may help.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i'm not sure you need to show us a picture. In most cases where the head is missing, a raccoon is first suspect. Read the sticky at the top of this topic that provides general information on predator identification. That should help.

And yes, generally once you have a predator, they will keep coming back until all your chickens are gone. So you will want to shore up your coops and pens.

 

[farrier!]

Be sure to tell your husband you like the idea of him trying to protect you but it is a lot less stress to find out your dog did not kill the rooster.

I sure would tell your husband he needs to coon proof the coop now.

 

[Zookeeper9000]

Hot wire is a persons best friend. I know mine is, in fact I heard something get hit last night and I took a look today and it was hit so hard that it pooped itself. I felt very good about that LOL. To bad it wouldn't of died as well.

 

[Crystalchic]

is a raccoon as strong as a large dog
if you could describe the strength of a coon what would you compare it too

 

[Judy]

Raccoons can get quite large, at least 40 lbs., and can kill at least a medium sized dog. They are very strong and very persistent.

If you read the sticky about identifying predators, you know that a single headless chicken is not at all what one usually finds after a dog attack.

 

[Crystalchic]

it was the only chicken that was in the caged pen
the rooster was there because two months ago he was attacked by a dog and was put there to grow his feathers back
i had no clue that a raccoon got that big
i live in southern california do they get that big in all of the states

 

[gypsy2621]

Quote:
Agreed a 40 lb coon can and will take on even the biggest badest junk yard dogs and prevail.
Friend of mine had a good strong coon dog, the coon litterally lured it into the water then drowned the coon hound.
If a caoon gets ahold of a dog it will stay on it till the end, and usually it is a coon that will win.

I am so sorry you are having to go through this, it is heartbreaking . trap and dispose of the coon and you should have some peace for a while.