Name that Poo (with a poo pic and grisly details)

[RebeccaS2010]

Last night something got in and killed 13 of our 21 chickens. This is the first time we’ve lost chickens overnight since March. We thought we’d fixed our problem with reinforcing the bottom of the run and putting an electric fence strand around that. About a week ago something tried to dig in and seems to have tried to climb the wire. Last night it went up the wire and squeezed over the top of the door. I’ve included a picture of where it slipped in last night. I’ve also included a picture of some scat left outside that we assume is from the same animal. Forgive the grisly descriptions here: a couple of the chicken bodies were opened up; others were missing heads; a few seemed untouched except for broken necks.

I’d appreciate some ideas on what our varmint might be. We’ve reinforced the top of the door, ran hot wire across the top, and put a strand of hot wire around the side of the run where the rascal climbed up.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Do you have pictures f the carcasses? My immediate response is racoon

 

[Matejka]

My thought is also raccoon. Those critters are smart and determined. Good luck.

 

[RebeccaS2010]

Do you have pictures f the carcasses? My immediate response is racoon

Raccoon was our first thought, too, but I thought I’d ask the experts on here. I didn’t take any pictures of the carcasses. The critter got all but one of my favorites, including several 12 week old juveniles I had handled a lot. I was a bit too distraught to take pictures.

 

[cmom]

I would suspect a coon too. If you have a game camera, put it up because it will be back. Good luck...