Lost another hen today...graphic pic

[heybarb]

Thank you all for your thoughts and suggestions. I have added a scarecrow to the yard, a plastic owl, and a few whirly CDs hanging from the trees - it kind of looks like Christmas decorations around here! Other than add another rooster, I'm not sure what else I can do except build a pen and I'm just not ready for that yet although I did stop at Lowes yesterday and priced a few things like hardware cloth and fence posts...

No problems yet today and hopefully it will stay that way! Fingers crossed!!

 

[zazouse]

I wouldn't think so but I also think that any other predator would not have eaten around and left that egg.

Have a look at the enlarged version of the photo... look at the left wing, notice the puncture marks?? had an coon or any kind of predator with teeth grab that bird with it's mouth it would have teeth marks and punctures, if you notice the red on the wing to me it looks like something had ahold of the wing lie a claw, i have seen birds of prey hold their victims by the back and wing and pluck their necks till they kill them or grab their necks and strangle them, i have also seen a hawk strike a chicken so hard that it killed it instantly, i have one chicken blind in one eye when a coopers hawk grabbed him , my peafowl fend off that one, now that little rooster lays in wait for the coopers hawk to come back, he watches and watches all the time.

 

[heybarb]

My husband just spotted a "big" Red Tail Hawk sitting in an oak tree across the street. GRRR! He said it was actually looking the other way towards our neighbors pond (and ducks)...maybe my scare tactics are working...I can only hope!

 

[Johnn]

I can relate to this, i have recently started having day light attacks, every tuesday, lost 3 hens so far, 2 the first time one body found, the other was missing, week later feathers everywere and no body! so sorry for your loss!

 

[heybarb]

I am starting to feel pretty discouraged...one of my bantam girls is missing now. She didn't come home with the rest tonight at dusk.

I suppose there's a chance she sitting on a hidden nest - she's done it before - but I am not feeling very confident about that - at all!!

 

[zazouse]

 

[zazouse]

If you find the hen has met her demise , leave it where it is and secure it to something with a string or peice of cord, wait and see who comes back for it, if it is a hawk it will be back within 24 hours to have another meal, of course ther is a possibility something else may happen by and take it . you can tie a bell to the string if you are within hearing distance of your flocks and a 20 dollar baby monitor is worth it's wait in gold if you can't.

 

[real_redhead]

So sorry...my girls haven't been able to leave the run in days because of those darn hawks...I hope you figure out what it is and can protect against it

 

[Kev]

It looks like the bones were cut, and with very clean cuts? If that's the case, would suspect bobcat. The duck carcasses left by bobcat had bones with extremely clean cuts through them.. they also only partially ate them very much like this before burying and killing another.

my raptor carcass experience was the bones were mostly intact with flesh pulled off, with lots of 'string' still attached to the bones. I'm not sure if a raptor could make clean cuts across a single bone?

I'm also guessing a bobcat wouldn't have much interest in eggs....?

also looks like either it was very wet conditions or the bird was extremely recently killed and eaten before discovery.

 

[zazouse]

It looks like the bones were cut, and with very clean cuts? If that's the case, would suspect bobcat. The duck carcasses left by bobcat had bones with extremely clean cuts through them.. they also only partially ate them very much like this before burying and killing another.

my raptor carcass experience was the bones were mostly intact with flesh pulled off, with lots of 'string' still attached to the bones. I'm not sure if a raptor could make clean cuts across a single bone?

I'm also guessing a bobcat wouldn't have much interest in eggs....?

also looks like either it was very wet conditions or the bird was extremely recently killed and eaten before discovery.

I assure you a Bob would not have left their catch there, they would have hide it for later as in cover it up, there also would have been feathers in more than one spot.
The only bones i see broken are the rib bones and a bird of prey would have been able to break they when pulling the meat off the bird, i have seen it before also a bird of prey will drag it's kill under a brush if there is one near by and i believe that is mentioned by the OP.