Help! Chickens attacked

[marnieb]

Hi everyone, last night/early this morning 12 of our chickens were killed in their pen. None were eaten, all of them were only attacked on their heads and no where else on the body. I figured it might have been a fox but a few of them where dragged onto our roof? Does anyone have any idea what could have done this. We do have quite a few domestic cats around but they've never bothered our chickens before and there is no way a dog could have gotten in. We also have ducks in the same pen but none of them were touched.

 

[3riverschick]

Were they lined up in rows? sounds like a weasel or a fisher of some kind.
Up on the Roof? that's odd. maybe a coon?
Karen

 

[Howard E]

Sorry to hear about that. And in their pen too.......where you thought they should be safe.

Multiple kills, bites to the head or neck......perhaps small holes under a wing......means a weasel, mink or one of the cousins. One of the worst is the least weasel....tiny little killer.

If that is it, short term solution is to trap and kill it. Weasel box.

As to how it got in, they can dig or climb, and can slip through any hole that is 1 inch....so chicken wire would be no issue for them. Probably requires a full enclosure of hardware cloth.

Also, do you have evidence of rats and/or mice in the coop area? Diet of a weasel is 90% plus these ground based furry rodents, which may be what attracts a weasel to the coop in the first place, but being opportunistic, they transition into to killing birds. If so, long term solution is to tighten up the coop, but more important, get rid of any vermin in the coop area that may be attracting them.

 

[3riverschick]

Hi ,which roof the roof of the coop or the roof of your house ?
that makes a big difference.
Best ,
Karen

 

[marnieb]

Th

Hi ,which roof the roof of the coop or the roof of your house ?
that makes a big difference.
Best ,
Karen

The roof of my house

 

[Latestarter]

coons. sorry for your loss

 

[17 chickens]

That is they behavior of a coon.... Make sure you put locks on your coops doors and runs!

 

[Howard E]

Sorry, I missed the part about the bodies piled on the roof. But even so, several birds killed from bites to the back of the head and then piled up is still the work of a mink, weasel or one of the cousins. Almost conclusively so.

Curious, how far is it from the coop where they were killed to the roof of your house? And how did the culprit get the birds from your coop to the house? And how did they get on the roof of the house?

If the coop / run area is open on top, that would explain how they got in and out.

BTW, where are you located? At least approximately.

 

[sourland]

How large were the chickens. If small to medium, I am guessing Great Horned Owl.