Help!! Something killed 2 hens and 3 baby turkeys!!

[Nifty550]

I need some advice asap. I have a flock of hens (10 until this started happening) that live in a secure horse stall with roosts and nesting boxes. They go outside from about 8am - 7pm with my 2 horses in about an acre pasture with no-climb 5 foot fencing. I have had these hens for well over a year and have had no problems with predators whatsoever. A few weeks ago we got 3 baby turkeys, who were also living in another secure horse stall in the barn. I come home from work to find them all dead in the stall, heads ripped off and partially eaten. A few days later one of my hens is missing and we find a mound of feathers in the pasture. We then get a have-a-heart trap and end up with a neighborhood cat in it. While the cat was in the trap during the day (hence ruling out this cat as the culprit) my polish hen goes missing and we find her ripped to shreds in the pasture. I am EXTREMELY upset and just unsure what predator we are dealing with. I can leave my hens in all day (which I will do until it's safe out there) but they are used to free-ranging all day. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated! I love my hens and want them to free range but I don't want anymore to get killed. RIP to my 2 girls Thanks in advance!

 

[roosterhavoc]

Probably a fox. Shoot it when you see it.

 

[iwiw60]

Yes, sounds like a fox to me, too. My motto when it comes to my chickens is this:

S - S - S

Shoot - Shovel - Shut Up

 

[chickengeorgeto]

The culprit

... I have a flock of hens.... A few weeks ago we got 3 baby turkeys... I come home from work to find them all dead in the stall, heads ripped off and partially eaten. A few days later one of my hens is missing and we find a mound of feathers in the pasture.... my polish hen goes missing and we find her ripped to shreds in the pasture....

The three turkey poults were likely killed by a coon. The hen who only left behind a pile of feathers was likely taken by something like a fox, coyote, or bobcat. The polish hen who was ripped to shreds sounds like a hawk victim to me.