Help! 15 chickens killed in 3 hours, what could have done that?

[BlackBrookPoultry]

I had coyotes take 10 of my birds this spring during the day.

 

[QuackerJackFarms]

I personally have had fox attack in broad daylight. Mama and 4 babies. Killed 15 in the time it took me to figure out there was something wrong and go grab a gun. This is the time of year the pups are coming to hunt with mama.

 

[tnchickenut]

2 things take 15 in a day.... dogs and humans. Dogs leave a mess (no they don't ALWAYS leave the bodies) and humans don't.

Sorry. I am dealing with the same thing. Lost 30+ in three weeks. Taking neighbor to court over it all.... not fun, but right is right and wrong is wrong.

 

[ivan3]

Country Girl Wannabe wrote: 10 were carried off with only feathers left on the ground. Two were dead in the field with bite marks on their chest. What kind of animal can kill 15 chickens in three hours. These chickens are full grown.

Red Foxes/maybe Coyotes.

A pair of Red Fox carried off 13 SLW pullets out of our neighbor's yard in ~15min. When she went out with treats she saw the tail of one as it disappeared into the brush. I found the cache just inside our woodline the following day (nothing but piles of feathers under two Cedars approx. 75yds from the grab and go. Then it was just a matter of searching all likely den locations within 300yds. or so of cache site. Found den and that was that. In the winter (no young) they are even easier to track and kill. I'd be looking for possible cache sites (abandoned outbuidings/hillsides with Southern exposure at the base of big snags are likely den locations).

Winter Cached rabbit and tracked paths (snares work great in winter).