Predator help.

[MROO]

Sounds like a very nasty Halloween-type prank done by big kids (or very juvenile adults) ... and with that said. let me qualify that by saying that the prankster may be the missing OP. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened here, I'm sure!

 

[Jamited]

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A lot of people call them Fisher cats, but their name is Fisher so as not to confuse with Fishing Cat, which is an actual feline.
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Thank you so much. My husband is from Virginia but didn't know what a fisher was either! Looks like a beautiful creature but a deadly hunter!

 

[Ila88]

So, so sorry for your loss. How heartbreaking. We did find that mink will attack at dawn and dusk, so we are careful to make sure the sun is up, no matter how noisy they get. They just kill, not eat them. Did they have any bite marks on the necks?

 

[MarcyG]

Your story has been in my mind since I read it and saw the pictures. I'm so very sorry for your trauma, but feel this was definitely done by humans. Surely any animal predator would kill to eat and they certainly wouldn't line them up after dispatching them! I would feel very unsettled if it were me and would report it to the police. It's not "just four dead chickens" . It's trespassing on your land, causing deliberate pain and cruelty to living creatures and destruction to your property. I would feel very vulnerable that whomsoever did it would return to do more damage so the police really do need to be involved. Tell your neighbours what happened (I'm sure you've done that already) and maybe put it in the local paper. What's occurred here is by no means trivial, but a sinister act of cruelty and wanton violence and whoever did it needs to know they can't get away with it. Next time they may attack a child or elderly person. I apologise if I seem to be OTT, but this sort of thing really bothers me and shouldn't be ignored. I do hope you keep us informed of any outcome, but in the meantime, I'm sending you my best wishes and kind regards.

I'm so very sorry for your pain, trauma and grief you and your family and your surviving chicken are going through. I can't even imagine how horrible it must be... :-(

I agree 100% with "Jamited" that I would report this to the police and your neighbors, your local paper. My gut tells me it is not an animal, as you say you saw no puncture wounds. I'm curious if you took the deceased hens in to a vet or somewhere for an autopsy? Maybe there would be other clues found that way. My heartfelt condolences, sending hugs and prayers your way.

 

[WGHowell]

BIGFOOT!!!!!!!!!! They like to do things like that. and you said the 1 chicken was terrified. It must have been BIGFOOT.

 

[ellend]

If the chickens were lined up as in the photos, it's not an animal.
I suggest you make a police report, so that if you have further troubles the police take it seriously.

 

[MROO]

The OP has disappeared. This smells like a hoax, to me. I actually hope it was, since the alternative - a sick human who would do a thing like this - is much, much worse!

 

[Willowspirit]

Someone did write once about her new retriever puppy killing chickens and putting them in a line. She couldn’t figure out chickens in a line until it came up with the next one.

Her story was informational on the topic of dogs I think and not eery.

 

[cmom]

The OP has disappeared. This smells like a hoax, to me. I actually hope it was, since the alternative - a sick human who would do a thing like this - is much, much worse!

I noticed that too.

 

[Girls club]

This is everything the 5th one was a few yards away on its own, but in the same state as the rest. Also a predator has not come back to get them either, something just isnt right what so ever. There are cctv cameras at the front and back door and it only picks me up going out to feed them and let them out as normal routine for the last 5-6 years.

An animal wouldn't lay the chickens in a row. If it's human cause , be careful.