Need Help With Predator I.D.!

[ScarlettFever]

Cats scurry, possums lumber. Owls elicit a lot of screams from their victims and leave many feathers mainly because they often begin eating or stripping feathers off their victims long before the kill is made. A fox is a superb killing machine of chicken sized fowl, no chicken can long live once a red fox gives it his full attention. Coons scurry but they also leave tracks that resemble small human hand prints and coons may also begin plucking a hen before she is dead.

I realize this is a VERY delayed response! I attempted to respond back when you first posted, but it wouldn't work. Then life happened, & I forgot! But I do want to thank you for this excellent summary!! Based on what you, & others, said I had it narrowed to owl or coon. But since my neighbor has since reported seeing "an owl big enough to carry off a small child" I'm pretty sure that's our culprit!!

The locking mechanism I managed to rig has held up well, so there should be no repeat hen-nappings!! If only I could convince the poor girl of this fact! She's still dealing with a serious case of PTSD, believe it or not! She WILL NOT go into that coop on her own. Instead, she comes up on the porch and calls to me around dusk, at which point I have to walk her back to the coop & physically place her inside (then quickly close the door behind her)! But she's ALSO developed a fear of jumping on the roosting pole if it's dark in there---so I have to shine a flashlight thru the top vent until she gets up!! My low-maintenance girl has gone Diva on me!

Anyway, thank you and everyone else for all the great advice!