MASSACRE- 6 CHICKENS DISSAPEARED 1 SHREDDED

Gomara1

In the Brooder
May 13, 2015
39
1
24
I just need advice here. We just had a massive massacre. 7 chickens were killed, and only one body left in the run. Fortunately 5 chicks made it into the coup and said safe, but the other 6 disappeared with only one body as evidence. We can't figure out what did this. There are no feathers in the run and the only evidence was the one body that was shredded but wasn't completely eaten.
Our current theories
1: fox- i am discounting this because 6 were taken with no feathers indicating little to no struggle between 7 birds
2: pack of raccoons- its possible a couple climbed the fence but once again- no struggle and only one carcass left behind
3: rats/mink- doubtful because of the lack of bodies
4: extremely hungry owl or hawk- the only reason I'm discarding this is because it took so many- i mean 6 chicks disappeared without a trace

If anyone has any ideas please tell me, I am very concerned for my girls!
Also if you have any ideas on how to keep them safe in the future that would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you so much for your help!
 
Coyotes? Something had to grab them quickly and firmly enough that their wasn't a struggle where the chickens lost feathers. Domestic dogs would have most likely killed for the fun of it and left the carcasses. Apparently there had to be several of the predators to take off with so many chickens. These were full-grown chickens?

Ed
 
sounds like a fox, they often grab and run so really minimal evidence at times. They will stash a body and come back for another. Chickens are like going to a big bulk store. They will kill as many as they can and stash them for later
 
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we have foxes but they haven't been active around us lately no coyotes. Also i did a perimeter check and there are no holes in the fence and the fence is dug into the ground to prevent burrowing into it
 
Also they weren't fully grown, they were only about 1 month old but big enough that eating 6 would fill up any predator around here
 
The thing is there are absolutely NO FEATHERS, i can't stress this enough, If i hadn't seen the one body i wouldn't have known any were missing. 7 chickens gone without a single shred of evidence or even remnants of a struggle.
 
Do you think a predator of some kind got the one and the others ran away out of fear? Being so young, maybe they weren't sure where to return?? One more thought, maybe what ever got the one chased the others away? I watched a CAT, yes a CAT, chase one of my chickens away.
 
Fox or coyote. I've had 9 taken by fox over the last few years, some simply missing, some with feather left behind. Fox are expert climbers; no problem at all for them to scale a fence or climb a tree. If uninterrupted, fox will kill and cache as many chickens as possible. So sorry for your losses. I know how frustrating it can be. This is the time of year vixens are raising and teaching their young to hunt.
 

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