One dead hen.... and it wasn't a hawk.

[sourland]

Kill sounds nothing like a dog kill. Generally dogs chase, play, and kill strewing feathers all over the place. Keep the live trap set. Hope you don't have a trap smart predator that someone "relocated" to your area. Good luck.

 

[Gypsi]

The trap was not sprung last night. The ferals I have trapped and had fixed are very trap wary, but I know where all of them were when the hen came up missing, they were out following me around the garden in case I found anything interesting. The old tom ferals are trap wary, which is why I've never managed to fix them. But they are also hungry. They'd have eaten more than a leg, unless I interrupted them when I went out to pen the birds, which is possible. She was right by the back fence. I might not have seen a cat leaving, as my focus was on rounding up hens. I did not see a body until the next day.

oh well, thanks for listening. I let the lady birds range for about 1.5 hours this morning, with me keeping an eye, then I gave them a bowl of oatmeal, wet down the run and penned them up with fresh food and water. They like hiding out under the trees in the heat of the day, but that is not so safe right now. Because if it was a predator, it will probably be back. No one has disappeared from that run since I finished it. ....Thank you everyone!