Mystery Animal Is Eating My Chickens But It Only Bites Off The Head And Leaves the Rest Of The Body

[heatherbell2]

Where are you located?

 

[TOR]

Possums are all around in sacramento area as well. with all the building going on they are running everywhere. I see them at night many times and they are truly terrifying. I had 2 chickens that were dragged under thier house and found half of their bodies in the fence. Only a racoon or possum could have done that. Heck most chickens will eat rats/mice.

weasel mink family will eat the heads of chickens, if there is no opening for a coon or possum that is where I would look first. weasel can fit thru inch. other signs may be small bite marks around head neck area. Weasel drag rabbits im sure prolly try drag a chiken.
weasel will also store food, so yes possible could come take the head off chicken take it back to home and come back for more. Weasels kill for fun like coon, weasel sometimes arranges it kills, Planning to come back?

Coon will eat heads off also and they will eat a whole bird feathers and all, they just eat part of it. If the chickens are in run if enough room a coon can grab a chicken thru fence also pull them eat head,

Possum will kill chickens in my experience they start at the back end first. Possum is more oppurturnistic animal. I have had them eat the chicken feed and steal eggs and not bother the chickens. If they hungry enough they can take down a chicken.

Rats will also kill chicken and bite around head neck area.

put out a game camera.\Good Luck

 

[ALWoodlands]

weasel mink family will eat the heads of chickens, if there is no opening for a coon or possum that is where I would look first. weasel can fit thru inch. other signs may be small bite marks around head neck area. Weasel drag rabbits im sure prolly try drag a chiken.
weasel will also store food, so yes possible could come take the head off chicken take it back to home and come back for more. Weasels kill for fun like coon, weasel sometimes arranges it kills, Planning to come back?

Coon will eat heads off also and they will eat a whole bird feathers and all, they just eat part of it. If the chickens are in run if enough room a coon can grab a chicken thru fence also pull them eat head,

Possum will kill chickens in my experience they start at the back end first. Possum is more oppurturnistic animal. I have had them eat the chicken feed and steal eggs and not bother the chickens. If they hungry enough they can take down a chicken.

Rats will also kill chicken and bite around head neck area.

put out a game camera.\Good Luck

Anyone have idea? It got pitch dark early about 5 pm for half a hour in North Alabama due to oncoming storm. Chickens free range inside pasture (with good 5 foot fence around it) till about 7 pm then rooster ushers into coop and auto door locks at 8 pm.

About 6:30 pm, all but 6 hens dead or gone. Seven were just missing including Roo. A couple were eaten but most not eaten just dead from heads being bit off. They were spread all over the pasture about 190 yards square. We are in rural area with little stream nearby & lots of woods. This is second bad attack this year. None at all last year. Don’t want donkey or Pyrenees dogs. Any other ideas?

 

[TOR]

coon can and do run in family packs, sounds like raccoon. I lost 20 or so last year, raccoon got a board loose on coop. Raccoon climb, Get a game camera.
Lots chickens with heads gone sounds like raccoon. 2, 3, 4 raccoons do alot of damage in hurry.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I just don't believe weasels or any other varmints kill "for fun." Are we to believe they go in the hen house, kill a chicken, do a little happy dance, Yahoo! One down, 16 to go! On to the next! What, do they bite a little notch in their tails to keep score of how many chickens they've killed? Compare notes with other weasels around the local pond? I DO agree with the poster that said raccoons may bite the head off and drink the blood, perhaps that's what weasels do. They may not be interested in gorging on the meat of an animal three or four times its size, but drinking the blood makes sense. I wish someone with a game or Ring camera would catch one of these marauders in action and settle this mystery once and for all!

 

[NewcoopNewpoop]

View attachment 3767166

Sorry for your chickens but that is a beautiful fox.

 

[McChooky]

Weasels or ferrets have a high metabolism and eat often.They store their food to eat later when possible.The war dance enables them to distract their prey and kill it

 

[TOR]

I just don't believe weasels or any other varmints kill "for fun." Are we to believe they go in the hen house, kill a chicken, do a little happy dance, Yahoo! One down, 16 to go! On to the next! What, do they bite a little notch in their tails to keep score of how many chickens they've killed? Compare notes with other weasels around the local pond? I DO agree with the poster that said raccoons may bite the head off and drink the blood, perhaps that's what weasels do. They may not be interested in gorging on the meat of an animal three or four times its size, but drinking the blood makes sense. I wish someone with a game or Ring camera would catch one of these marauders in action and settle this mystery once and for all!

A raccoon eats the head off chickens. The head has alot of nutrition. Weasels will drink the blood , but also take the head and carry it away to their burrow for later.
My cat will get a mouse, carry it and drop it and wait for it to move so it can chase it some more, rinse and repeat till mouse usually dead. How many people in the predator forums have had chickens killed by dogs, but the dogs do not eat them.
Raccoons will kill more than they can eat if available prey, like chickens. I have seen it. My own chickens.
Why do they do it. Fun? Nature? Does the movement of the chickens being prey make them excited?
Weasel, stoat will take down a animal 3, 4, 5 times its size. Go watch on youtube. They are fascinating animals till they get in your chicken coup.