No chickens just feathers

[SerHendipity]

I had 9 chickens today when I left for work. 5 Leg Horns, 3 Silkies and a Sizzle roo. They are free range during the day when someone is home. We have 3 dogs. The one that has a history of going after things.. he's old, diabetic and technically under hospice care these days and currently has a cone on his head! but back in the day when he did kill (skunk, squirrels, wood chuck ) he left the body. Today this dog had the roo in his mouth with the cone on his head. There must have been a lot of comotion for him to go for the roo or the roo was already dead when he picked it up. But Here's my yard... a fence 6' picket around the perimeter. Then a pool area that has another fence around it. My silikes and roo pretty much stay in the pool area where there coop is. the others would squeeze through the fence into the other fenced in part. with 3 dogs and a dbl fenced yard we never had a wild animal problem. Today (aside from the obvious My dog) something else got 6 of my chickens. feathers in clumps in different locations around the yard. No blood no bodies no nothing. The rooster which my daughter said was in the fenced part of the yard deceased was not there when I got home an hour later. The dogs were in the house. What would do this. I am hoping the chickens are hiding...but I am also a realist. My blue silkies couldn't hide if they tried, Heart Broken .... DO you think a hawk? But 6 chickens? IDK how a fox would squeeze through two fences and in broad daylight..
Any ideas?

 

[chooks4life]

Really sorry for your loss. Terrible to lose a few great ones but to lose a whole flock's got to be horrible.

Not hawk I think, that's too many repeat attacks. Where do you live? I'm guessing in America but without knowing your location it's hard to guesstimate at the predators.

Anyway, hello and

Sorry that such an incident brought you here. Best wishes.

 

[JackE]

I lost a lot of chickens to the fox, 17, in two separate DAY attacks. What you describe is exactly what happened here. No birds, piles of feathers around the yard. A fox will squeeze through, or go over or under a regular fence. They are very bold when they want something. They will kill all they can, then make repeated trips to remove the victims. The answer for me. was 650' of electrified poultry net. The chickens get out everyday, and all the fox can do is look at them.

 

[SerHendipity]

A fox is exactly what we had narrowed it down to last night. And your post reaffirmed it. The fox came back for one of it's earlier victims that I didn't happen to see after I had searched everywhere I thought. I closed everything up for the night went in the house and about 30 min. later I realized I forgot something outside and must have scared it because there was one of my blue Silkies on my patio. Here in Mass where we live our predators are mostly fox, fisher cat, hawk and coyote. Never thought that any of those would come out at 1 in the afternoon. That's what had me wondering. Thanks for the post replies. Going to Google electric poultry netting now.