Fox? Bobcat? Losing one bird a day, need to identify.

[QueenMisha]

Well, after a pleasant 2 year spell with no predation whatsoever, it looks like my good luck has finally run out. I've lost 3 birds in the past 3 or 4 days; two at night, one in the day time. The first two were small, a 4 month capon and a Buttercup hen. All I found was feathers and the capon's crop. There was a small hole in my fence on two different sides; on one side, it appeared to have chewed through welded deer/garden fencing and on the other it pushed/bit through the chicken wire (this part of the fence separated the chickens from the garden only, it also had a garden/deer fence around the perimeter, but someone left one of the gates open). Today I lost a third, sometime during the day; a full grown Plymouth Rock hen. This time the carcass was there; eaten into from the lower side of the bird. It mostly munched on the gizzard and ate the meat off the leg, leaving the bone. Some of the feathers were plucked from the bird.

I found fox tracks the night the capon was taken; but isn't plucking far more characteristic of a feline predator?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[QueenMisha]

Will be interesting what you trap.
Wonders if you're dealing with 2, or more, different predators.
Night time killing of birds (that didn't get locked up?)...maybe owl?
Daytime was maybe different pred?
What about the GSD...has it been cleared in these kills?

Yep. nothing in the trap today, hopefully tomorrow.

Maybe it's more than one; but I doubt it. Like I said, most predators around here seem clever enough to stay away from the property because we have so many dogs.

Not owl... had a friend deal with an owl and it always took the heads, necks, nothing else. Plus I really don't think any kind of bird could navigate through the kind of thick cover the manzanitas provide. And like you said, it wouldn't account for the daytime kill.

The GSD is cleared. She's laid up with a case of "the puppies." Actually, all the losses I've had in the past two years have occurred since she got preggers, so I guess she is doing a good job after all. She knows better than to kill chickens now: caught her muzzle deep in a Fayoumi's organs and slapped her across the face with the carcass, she ain't done anything since. She even once got locked in the Banty run for two hours by accident and didn't do a thing, she's the real picture of a reformed bird killer.

 

[centrarchid]

At this point I suggest strongly you rule nothing out with possible exception of hawk taking smaller birds at night. Bobcats like to move kill a little ways off to consume as do foxes and coyotes. Your vegetation will not stop any raptors with possible exception of eagles and real falcons. A Great-horned Owl should be watched for as well and such will pursue chickens on the ground even during daylight this time of year if they are not concerned about being harassed by hawks.

 

[Wisher1000]

Check this out...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/18670/poultry-predator-identification

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Do you realize it is illegal to shoot a raptor? They are Federally protected.

Yes, but Father Obama must catch you before he is able to turn you over to ISIS for execution.

 

[Wisher1000]

I have seen a lot of predator kills, but I'm far from an expert. Mostly, foxes will take the whole bird, as will coyotes (first bird.) I would suspect an opossum based on the point of entry being the rear end, but they usually just take the body to the nearest hiding place to eat it. I have found carcasses in the nest boxes where a 'possum was dining. A hawk will sit on top of it's kill and pluck the feathers and discard them in a circle around the body. Could also be a raccoon, but they like to have the head first. My advice is to secure your coop much better (1/2" hardware cloth is about the only one that is dependable to keep most things out, and then to set some traps for your varmit.

 

[cavemanrich]

What you describe on the Plymouth Rock sounds like a opossum munching on it. A fox would not have done so little eating and left the rest behind. I have no knowledge on how bobcats treat prey.

HOPE YOU CATCH THE PREDATOR SOON.

 

[HotDesertChick]

Plain ol' ugly roof rat? Any chance of a mink? Both have the capability to chew through light wire. And squeeze through just about anything else. Either one, could try for a kill in daylight, especially if they have been successful before. Most mammalian predators would prefer to take prey at night, when it is ridiculously-easy to have, or cart off, a chicken dinner.

That said, I have not seen rats, or mink, try to "pluck" the victim. Just too darn easy, to tear into the chicken and have a quick, or longer, snack. A rogue cat might be the varmint, but I rather doubt it. Any chance, that you have more than one type of varmint snacking on your chickens?

Is anyone around during the day, to keep an eye out for enterprising killers? I agree with setting up some sort trap. If you can monitor any openings with a game camera, all the better, ... to I.D., the successful varmint. That WILL be back!

Fortify your run, or lose all of your chickens?


Good luck!

 

[QueenMisha]

I have seen a lot of predator kills, but I'm far from an expert.  Mostly, foxes will take the whole bird, as will coyotes (first bird.)  I would suspect an opossum based on the point of entry being the rear end, but they usually just take the body to the nearest hiding place to eat it.  I have found carcasses in the nest boxes where a 'possum was dining.  A hawk will sit on top of it's kill and pluck the feathers and discard them in a circle around the body.  Could also be a raccoon, but they like to have the head first.  My advice is to secure your coop much better (1/2" hardware cloth is about the only one that is dependable to keep most things out, and then to set some traps for your varmit.

Thanks for the input. It's not a hawk, all the birds were killed under heavy manzanita cover - no way a hawk could fly down through that. I wouldn't have guess opossum - wouldn't it be bizarre for one to take a bird during the middle of the day?

My coop is Fort Knox, as we have bears in these woods. The birds that were taken at night had both been trying to sleep outside, and it can sometimes be hard to round the stragglers up because of how thick the manzanitas are. My fence isn't particularly secure - 5 foot tall, 2x4inch, no buried wire. My run is 4,000 sq. ft. and burying wire would cost a fortune.

I've got a trap out now, with the rest of the Rock tied inside it.

What you describe on the Plymouth Rock  sounds like a opossum munching on it.  A fox would not have done so little eating and left the rest behind.   I have no knowledge on how bobcats  treat prey.

HOPE YOU CATCH THE PREDATOR SOON.   


 

Wow, another vote for opossum. Now I'm second guessing my ID of those "fox" tracks - they would have been the right size for a opossum as well. Thanks for the response.

 

[barkerg]

Here in central texas fox and coyotes nab go without leaving a trace. Coons will eat the bird through the wire. What your describing sounds like a possum or skunks if you have them. Skunks normally eat the head and the nutrient rich liver and gizzards for protein. Keep us posted im interested.

Gerald Barker