Murder Mystery, what killed my chicks??????

[Ducksandchickens]

Chickens should be able to defend it said against a rat.

 

[Ducksandchickens]

And a rat would leave droppings and they usually dig their way through

 

[Kessel23]

I don't think a rat would kill so many at once, but I could be wrong. It sounds like something a mink or weasel would do. Minks have very little trouble breaking into runs, they are very flexible and can fit through very small holes. Also, minks will kill extra to save for later.

 

[Ducksandchickens]

Is your coop near woods or other heavily wooded areas?

 

[DempsK01]

some coons just kill for fun. Some eat them but most just kill for fun. Do you have a picture of the coop and it’s surroundings?

I don't - it is right by my house(like literally it backs up to my bedroom window with fencing on the other three sides) with nothing else around it and my yard is all open no shrubbery in a neighborhood. We a in a more country setting, but I can't say i've ever seen a coon out here, lost of opossums, but i'd read that they would have eaten the heads if they were the culprit.

 

[DempsK01]

Is your coop near woods or other heavily wooded areas?

We have woods around our house but my back yard is fenced and in a neighborhood, we back up to a sod farm

 

[Ducksandchickens]

I think it was either a raccoon or weasel. Where do you live? It will be easier for me to know what could of possibly got in

 

[DempsK01]

I don't think a rat would kill so many at once, but I could be wrong. It sounds like something a mink or weasel would do. Minks have very little trouble breaking into runs, they are very flexible and can fit through very small holes. Also, minks will kill extra to save for later.

Are they common in the South? I live in the southeast, I'd heard of locals having problems with opossums and coyotes but never weasels

 

[Ducksandchickens]

Small animals (like coons or weasels) could get through a fence.

 

[DempsK01]

I think it was either a raccoon or weasel. Where do you live? It will be easier for me to know what could of possibly got in

I live in the North Carolina