Just A Big Pile of Feathers! :-(

[Debutante]

This afternoon we noticed a pretty significant pile of feathers in a wide open space near our coop. No blood or tissue, just chunks of feathers. Of course, we immediately assumed that at least one of our free-range hens had been taken! We know that there is a large coy-wolf in the area, but it has never been spotted close to the farm. Also, we have some hawks and owls around. To our absolute amazement, when we did our "head-count" tonight, ALL the chickens were present and all seemed unharmed. Any guesses what type of predator would have caused this frightening 'near miss'? Tomorrow we will be keeping the chickens in the run in case "it" comes back.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I assume that you are in the Northern Hemisphere. If so you may be looking at feather molt.

 

[Zoomie]

Might sound like a dumb question but you don't say. Were these chicken feathers? Or from some other bird? And if chicken, did it seem like enough for a whole chicken?

It sort of sounds like a hawk or owl kill. They will pluck the feathers from the bird before eating it. If it's a small enough bird they can eat it all in one go, and in some cases if the bird is small enough they can pick it up and fly off with it. I once had a hawk kill a pigeon right by my window so I was able to watch this plucking behavior happen right in front of me.

On the other hand yes, a canid will grab and pull out a lot of feathers. You could be right that it's some sort of dog or hybrid.

Either way, it probably will return, so it would be wise to keep a close eye for quite a while.

 

[Debutante]

I assume that you are in the Northern Hemisphere. If so you may be looking at feather molt.

Yes, we are in the Northern Hemisphere; in Ontario, just a couple of hours north of Toronto. The girls have moulted twice recently but this feather loss seemed more 'extreme' than that. It was literally one big pile of all-yellowish feathers, in one 3-foot area. Definitely had all the hallmarks of a predatory attempt. (Fortunately, an UNsuccessful one)!

 

[Debutante]

Might sound like a dumb question but you don't say. Were these chicken feathers? Or from some other bird? And if chicken, did it seem like enough for a whole chicken?

It sort of sounds like a hawk or owl kill. They will pluck the feathers from the bird before eating it. If it's a small enough bird they can eat it all in one go, and in some cases if the bird is small enough they can pick it up and fly off with it. I once had a hawk kill a pigeon right by my window so I was able to watch this plucking behavior happen right in front of me.

On the other hand yes, a canid will grab and pull out a lot of feathers. You could be right that it's some sort of dog or hybrid.

Either way, it probably will return, so it would be wise to keep a close eye for quite a while.

Thank you for the insights and info.! It crossed my mind that it could have been the remains of some other bird, but the colour of the feathers matches my Buff Orpingtons exactly, and bears some resemblance to my Easter Eggers. Definitely not enough feathers for a whole chicken, though.
This AM I gave each hen a full physical exam and none of them seem damaged in any way. They're all eating and drinking and moving around normally... except for being annoyed that I won't let them out today. Very puzzling! Judging by the number of feathers in clumps, I would not have thought any chicken would have survived such an attack. I guess it will remain a great mystery.
My own dog, a huge Bernese Mountain Dog, died last week, so I'm now wondering if it was her presence that kept the predators at bay? Is it going to be a "Self-Serve free-for-all" without any dog here? Yikes! My next tactic will be to set up a trail-cam.

 

[theoldchick]

So sorry for the loss of your dog. How sad to lose her and now you have to deal with this. Definitely start fortifying your coop/pen with hardware cloth. Get it covered and use electric wire to keep out possible canine visitors. A trail cam will definitely help you see what is happening. Good luck!

 

[CntryBoy777]

I think it is more likely a ground predator than from the air....if a hawk, eagle, or owl they will attack with their talons first...aiming for the spine from above....if a ground predator, they will run and snatch or pounce...this affords the prey animal an opportunity to slip the grasp. It sounds like either a fox, cat, or a pouncing animal to me and the chicken slipped the grasp by loosing some feathers and running away. Ya can rest assured that it will continue to lurk, hoping for another opportunity.

 

[ReseisCL16]

I'm not so sure about the ground predator thing; I've had a similar experience where one of my birds was actually picked up by a hawk and quickly dropped. I can tell you, she lost a lot of feathers! Have u checked all of ur buff bird's backs for claw marks? I've also had experiences with ground predators and they usually will take chunks out of their prey before it escapes (ex: dogs). Birds can survive from both of these situations.

 

[Sara Ranch]

*hugs*

 

[sawilliams]

If you don't find anything in your birds that does indicate predator. I just wanted to comment that I have 1 green myself that drops over half her feather weight in less then 2 days when she molts. Oddly she never goes bare and other then a sudden decrease in size she looks normal and fully feathered. Mine stay cooped most of the day but when they free range I will often see her shake and drop 20+ feathers at once.

Is always hard to tell but deffinatly check for signs of injury. Heavy feathered breeds like an Orpington could easily hide small injuries under all that fluff