Lost all 5 layers last night. Pics* to help identify.

[CapricornFarm]

Sorry for your loss! Dogs will kill every chicken they can catch and often don't eat them. It might have been a family of coons, but I have never had them bust wood like that. Whatever it is will be back. Game cam and trap. Good luck. Deb

 

[rarely bored]

My initial guess would be a small, very determined short haired dog. Perhaps a younger doxie? The broken wood makes me think of an animal that chews, not a racoon which would pull things apart with his/her paws, but I have no experiences with racoons.

Were there any paw prints in the dirt? I'd expect there to be a chance of something at the base of your fence where it had to push off, or stand on two feet in order to get through.
Glad you have some other chickies to help you get over the shock.
Let us know what you catch.

 

[cw]

my first thought is dog as well. if it is dog you should find some tracks

 

[Mattemma]

So sorry for yor loss. Chicken wire is the weakest isn't it?They should rename it chicken dinner fencing. Dog or coon. Put out some flour or wet some soil to make it muddy to see if any prints come up from later returns.

 

[darkmatter]

Looks like dog to me. Aggressive chew marks and uneaten chickens.

 

[zazouse]

I say dog also.

 

[QuackerJackFarms]

Hello and Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a good time with family today.

Okay, I am confident it is a coon. Although I too contemplated a dog. But it'd have to be awfully small and scale a 5 foot fence, and we don't have any small dogs in the neighborhood. This city is VERY strict leash laws. I grabbed my dad's coon trap that he uses for his sweet corn and we'll see what we get. I looked for tracks since it's been muddy, but unfortunately I had let my dogs out that morning and theirs are the only tracks I see.

I know we have a coon that lives in the storm drain thingy at the end of the street.

To answer an above question: I only had 5 big layers, 2 Bl Aups, 2 Red sex links, and a barred rock. I also have 12 cochin/silkies but they are still in the brooder inside. My ducks were not touched but that's just because I got lucky. A coon could have gotten in that coop if it had wanted, or had more time.

But they are safe as long as my dogs are outside. I have the BEST dogs in the world.

I'll let you know what I get in that trap!

 

[oldchickenlady]

I lost a chicken yesterday, but it was before dark. My brother went to shut the gate about 4:30 and 1 was already missing. He looked around for it and didn't find it. I found it this morning not far away under a cedar tree. It had been plucked and all it's neck eaten plus some of the body. Going to set a trap tomorrow and see if I can catch whatever it was.

 

[KandiandJerry]

sounds like a hawk to me

 

[oldchickenlady]

I initially thought that too, but the cedar tree had branches all the way down to the ground and the body was under them, kind of difficult for a hawk to negotiate, but a possum or coon would have no trouble. I figured a hawk would have carried it away or eaten it where it killed it. It would have had to be in the open for the hawk to get to it, I think.