Help! Chicken Killed In Run!!!!

[Fluffs_flock]

I have about a dozen chickens. We don't free range them, they stay in their coop and run at all times. The run is fully enclosed.
They were let out very early in the morning, 3:30 ish.
One of the chickens, Spadey was beheaded near the wire.
Is it a raccoon? And how do we prevent this from happening again.
Please help, Spadey was a good chicken.

 

[Thunder344]

How big is your fencing holes? Could she fit her head through the fencing and then something grab it? It has happened before to my chickens.

 

[Fluffs_flock]

Small on the bottom half of the run, to small to even fit a finger through.
Bigger wire on the top, large enough for her head to fit through.
There is a board running along that the chickens liked to sit on, she was most likely on there.
Her head was taken, which makes me think it was a raccoon.

 

[Thunder344]

Our girl that died this way stuck her head through the fence and then a fox came up and took her head. Their were claw marks on the ground and we have had at least 10 other chickens killed by foxes.

 

[Thunder344]

Small on the bottom half of the run, to small to even fit a finger through.
Bigger wire on the top, large enough for her head to fit through.
There is a board running along that the chickens liked to sit on, she was most likely on there.
Her head was taken, which makes me think it was a raccoon.

How high up was the bigger wire from the ground?

 

[Thunder344]

How high up was the bigger wire from the ground?

Low enough that a raccoon could reach up?

 

[DaisyG2317]

Sounds like a raccoon. It will be back. Put hardware cloth where the bigger openings are.

You need to eliminate the raccoons now. Small caliber garden gun or high powered pellet gun if you are firearms averse.

 

[HappyDuckie]

I'm sorry for your loss. It does sounds like a raccoon.

 

[Fluffs_flock]

The higher wire was maybe a bit over 2 feet off the ground. We've never seen a raccoon, though I do know there is a fox in the area. Best guess is that it climbed and reached through the wire.
Willing to shoot if I get the chance, but I don't know if I'll get the chance.
We were thinking of either hardware cloth to get rid of the large holes, or barbed wire so it couldn't get near. Which would be better?
Thank you all for you help.

 

[Folly's place]

So sorry for your loss!
Hardware cloth everywhere is best!
Barbed wire, no way. Electric fencing, properly set up, is effective, but not so much against rats or weasels. Having a roost or other object close to your inadequate fencing gave your bird an opportunity to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Mary