HELP! What attacked my chickens???

[rhode_island_brunette]

This morning I found 5 chickens spread out all over their fenced in area. They were all dead. They still had their heads and I couldn't see that anything had been eaten from them. They also didn't look mauled though. There were feathers in bunches everywhere. The chickens were intact, with only 2 having a little blood underneath them. I couldn't tell where the blood came from on them. It's obviously something that kills for sport. I'm hoping it's not a stray dog, but I figured I would find bite marks on the chickens if that were the case. I'm afraid whatever it is will come back.

 

[rhode_island_brunette]

I failed to mention that the first one I found had feathers sticking out of its beak. It was also next to the fence where there were feathers stuck to one of the openings in the wire fencing as if something had tried to pull it through. This would've led me to believe a raccoon, except that none of them were missing their heads. And why would a raccoon kill all 5 chickens and not eat any of them?

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I know you said you found them this morning, but do you know if this happened during the day or night? Also, is the top of their fenced-in area covered, or could something climb over? I am sorry. And yes the culprit will likely soon return. A game or other camera may identify what killed them, but the first issue is to secure your remaining birds so the predator doesn't kill more.

 

[rhode_island_brunette]

Exactly! They were safely in their coop last night. It must've happened early this morning as they have an automatic door that opens when it gets light out. We have woven wire fencing all around the area they were in. Each one was found far from the other right up against the fencing as if they had been running from something and ended up at the fence with nowhere to go. One of them ended up flying into the road apparently where it got run over.

 

[rhode_island_brunette]

We also did place a camera out there tonight.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I hope you see something on camera between now and the morning. Nocturnal predators are sometimes still out after dawn, especially if they haven't found something to eat and are still hungry. But from your description, my first thought was that a dog did the deed, especially since you didn't see any obvious wounds and none were eaten. Temporarily resetting your coop door to not open until 9-10am Might help, but in reality the predator may check back at other times of the day to see if chickens are out. A couple strands of electric wire may be your best solution to keep your survivors safe.

 

[rhode_island_brunette]

Got videos of a fox last night trying to get into the run with my chickens! I believe this was the culprit and that it was just going to come back for them. I read a lot about them doing that yesterday. This fox WILL get the rest of my chickens, which are only 7 now, because it is illegal to hunt or trap foxes. I think the next thing I will have to try is motion sensor lights. But I don't have an endless supply of money to keep this thing away from my chickens!

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Is your user name correct that you live in Rhode Island? I was aghast that a person has no recourse if a wild predator is killing their chickens, and would be forced to stand by helplessly and watch it happen. . This info says that a person in Rhode Island is allowed to kill a fox that is killing livestock.
https://nwco.net/states/states-q-z/...rovided under,Division of Fish and Wildlife.”

Is the law where you live (County or city law, etc) different than this?

 

[rhode_island_brunette]

Unfortunately I do not live in Rhode Island. I live in Georgia. They have some strict laws about hunting and trapping down here. You can only trap foxes from December to February. It seems I may just need to start doing that every year. It is sadly true that it is illegal for me to kill it even though it is killing my livestock.

 

[rhode_island_brunette]

They are a "protected fur bearing species".