Half my flock missing and one in coop

[JessFarmer]

So, I went out to lock up my chickens tonight. I have two different coops. One with 4 hens and a rooster, and another with 18 almost 4 month olds. I found one of the older birds in her coop with her head off but still there with the neck bones exposed. There are some of her feathers and what looks like the roosters feathers inside the coop as well. And about half of the other flock completely gone. Any ideas? I chased off a raven the other day that was eating a carcass of a chicken but not sure if the raven was the culprit or not. I haven't seen mink or raccoons on my property at all, but they are known where I live. We also have bears and cougars but the one hen in the coop was barely touched. Ravens, owls and eagles have all been seen or heard but what would leave the hen in the coop but carry off the others? Or did the rooster maybe scare it off? Have also had all the ducks eggs go missing as well. She nests in the forest. All my birds free range during the day but my property is heavily forested so deters some overhead attacks.

 

[junebuggena]

Could have been anything. Time to keep them securely penned in a run till the culprit is dealt with. That's the risk you take with free ranging. Anything can come along and decide to help themselves to an all-you-can-eat chicken buffet.

 

[centrarchid]

Fox. Fix coops so fox cannot get in. Make so chicken roost where fox cannot come into contact with chickens through sides, bottom, or top of pen. Stop free-ranging if done.

 

[dustcover]

Amazon has a neat camera for about $35. You can mount it to the wall within your coop or run or to any other structure that provides a view of your layout. It requires an electric outlet source and available Wi-Fi signal. When hooked up you can monitor what is going on in your coop or run via your computer, laptop, or tablet.