Have A Predator Problem??

[chikiada]

I have never seen any racoons in this area but will try the motion detector light as no matter what it is that might do the trick. Thank you.

 

[LeafBlade12345]

Hawks and owls eat the heads off the chickens and leave the bodies. Raccoons rarely do this. I'd guess a bird of prey.

 

[chikiada]

Thank you for your answer and we have hawks, eagles and owls in this area and my husband shoots the rifle when he sees any close to the chickens but the two chickens with the heads eaten were killed at night. This makes more sense as the dogs are more likely not to bark at a bird flying in as they are used to the peacocks and guinea
hens flying around sometimes at night.

 

[LeafBlade12345]

Well, owls are nocturnal, so they would probably hunt at night. They are also almost completely silent and very fast, so dogs probably wouldn't even spot them. I use nite guard predator eyes and keep a cover on my animals' pens, as shooting these birds is illegal.

 

[blucoondawg]

Any hawk or owl that has ever killed my chickens has ate everything but the bones and feathers so I can't agree with that being a raptor kill, I have heard many times of coon eating heads and have had one rip a chick head off through a fence. Owls are nocturnal but can and do hunt during hours where chickens may be active, gloomy days, and early morning late evening when chickens are beginning to move in or out of the coop are prime times for owl kills, I lost 8 hens to owls last fall during daylight hours, my chickens put themselves back inside far before it gets dark and are never let out before full daylight in the morning

 

[LeafBlade12345]

Owls eat the bones of animals and "throw up" the pellets filled with hair, bone, and teeth or feathers of animals they eat, so your predator was probably not an owl. Hawks also almost never eat their prey right there on the ground, they usually take the bird up to higher ground so they are less susceptible to predators. Raccoons sometimes do rip the heads off of chickens or eat just the heads, but I think in this poster's case, we are dealing with an owl.

 

[LeafBlade12345]

I suppose I would really classify owls under crepuscular, as dawn and dusk are their favorite hunting times when it comes to chickens it seems. But other animals like mice, voles, rats, etc., they prefer to hunt for when it is dark.

 

[blucoondawg]

The hawks eat the chicken where they killed it or drag it off a short ways if they can like in the case of a banty, my dual purpose adults get eaten where they're killed. The owls take then away and do who knows what, I know owls will eat bones, everything I've found inside my fence is hawk kill.

 

[LeafBlade12345]

I see. But all the owls I've seen kill animals often eat the heads off, most probably because the brain is the most nutritious part of the chicken that is easy to get to. It is interesting to hear other experiences though.

 

[blucoondawg]

I don't know why any animals do that, they are wasting 98% of the kill by just eating the head.