I dont know what took my Chicken please help

[Chickenknight]

Hello this is my first post. Me and my wife are new to raising chickens we started about a month ago with six and have been using this website which is really great ^^ So today late afternoon went outside to get my Free Range chickens and rabbits to get them ready for bed and we always do a head count and we are short one chicken, are yard isn't very big and fenced in so we went into panic mode and I found a small trail of larger feathers and then a smaller pile of the tiny little feathers. Could anyone tell me if it was a fox or a hawk/eagle I live in the Olympic Peninsula if that helps. I walked around the fence line to see if I could see any holes that maybe a small animal could have got in through also didn't find the body which leads be to believe it was a hawk/eagle. A few nights ago I did see a medium size animal that I thought was our cat but she turned out to be inside already. Thanks in advanced for any info.

 

[Firefighter Chick]

I am going to guess that if there was two piles that an animal dragged the chicken from the kill site, so fox or raccoon. I have two large dogs that are on pest patrol that keep most predators away. most. (had a recent hawk kill )

 

[Cknldy]

My guess is coon. Had one take a few free range roosters- one while roosting and the other in daytime hanging around the coop. Large feathers and coon prints at original snatch site, what I call 'fluff butt' feathers a little further away with coon prints. I'm guessing that is where it stopped to be sure my roo was dead before trailing to the den. Last fallnight Backyard poultry had a full section on predators and what you'd find after an attack frrom each one. Coons are sneaky little boogers- with a hawk you are more likely not to find any sign at all.

 

[Chickenknight]

Ok thanks a lot for the replies I am going to keep a good eye out today and see if I can notice anything.

 

[mondotomhead]

I'm confused about free range chickens inside a fence

If your chickens are inside a fence with no netting over it, a hawk could of taken your chicken especially if there are trees around for the hawk to perch in and watch.

If your chickens are just walking around outside it could be a fox. I would think the coons would wait until dark.

Unfortunately, I have experienced both of these things. Now I have netting on the fenced yard/coop area and my chickens don't walk around outside that without me being right there.

 

[Chickenknight]

My chickens are free ranged in my backyard which is about 1/2 an acre and Its fenced in so I don't know how I could use netting.