Predator help.

[Jac Jac]

Nope, I mean we go to work, very private people. We involve ourselves with the community all the time. The only thing i could think of ive upset anyone is due to resigning from a job and working elsewhere.

The only hen left wont move on her own, she will only eat if i stroke her, or give it to her by hand, brought her inside a few moments ago, im terrified because they'd all lay eggs everyday, but she keeps cherping, i feel for her i really do

What a beautiful baby. I too ache for her and your family. Rest assured, it will be alright.

Will you be getting more chickens in the near future to comfort her and your family? We at BYC are anxious to see them when/if you do. Yes, it hurts but you got this. Head up. Cluck on.

 

[Jac Jac]

View attachment 1932914
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.
View attachment 1932913

Thank you. I had no idea of either fisher or fisher cat. We appreciate you, the info and the pics.

 

[Jac Jac]

I'm a little flabbergasted by the 4×4 beam snapped in half.... how could a small critter like a coon, or even a decent sized dog, do that? Were there high winds or a downed tree that could have broken that?

Everytime I've seen a dog attack on chickens, done for fun, the birds are scattered wherever the dog managed to catch them, not in a line...

Is the wet feathers possibly from morning dew? You said this happened early, between 5 to 7 am. Weve got crazy dew in the morning at that time here.

Is the one picture of the ground a track? I think I see one, but it's hard to tell. If it is, can you put something for size reference next to it?

I'm in total agreement with this post. Our dog went on a rampage once - slaughtered over 40 leghorns, a dozen RIRs and a few mixed backyard chicks.(He is no longer with our family or playing on thisi side of the river.) Like I said before- I'm inclined to believe this was done by a two legged varmint. Shame on them.

 

[Jac Jac]

I wish I found my 3 girls because there was no feather and nothing was disturbed except all my beautiful Rhode Island Reds were gone. Anyone have an idea besides the fact a human grabbed them. I have had no problems with my girls in 3.5 years, everyone was happy and laying eggs like crazy. I got them as chicks at a local hardware store and raised them to keep me company while my wife worked because I no longer could and they brighten my days a lot. I have been thru 6 surgeries to repair my damaged spine from a drunk caused by a drunk with a suspended license for drunken diving who rear end my SUV and destroyed it and my spine. In 7th surgery they put a pump in my back putting morphine into my spine so my girls were my "comfort chickens" keeping me going and not getting very depressed. My wife loved my girls because she could see they were keeping me from getting more depressed. I think the problem came about because of undocumented workers trimming a tree and they saw them and decided they wanted the chickens for eggs or a chicken dinner. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I have been going crazy looking for pullets (young chickens?) that where close to my home in Kansas or Missouri without any luck. I did find Murray McMurray Hatchery had 4+ Week Old Buff Orpingtons hens and others (I did not want Rhode Island Reds again because they would remind of my lost hens) for $17.54 which I was going to see if we could afford them till they told me the shipping cost and I gave up.
I did find a young man (sounds young), Greg here in Kansas that had 3+ year old Buff Orpingtons hens (and many others) he was having to sell because his wife has stage 4 breast cancer. He had an egg business; he wants $10.00 for a hen and $6.00 for a rooster. I called Greg and found he is around 3.5 hours from my home and there is no way I can drive that far any more so he is going to see what it would cost to send them to me.

If anyone is interested in buying some of these chickens his Craigslist address is:

Original craigslist post:
https://wichita.craigslist.org/grd/6983711881.html
About craigslist mail:
https://craigslist.org/about/help/email-relay

Do not buy all of his Buff Orpingtons because I want 3 of the hens since they are gentle birds and want the hens if I can get them here. If anyone can transport the Buff Orpingtons to Johnson County, Kansas from central Kansas I would pay them for their time and gasoline if we could afford the service. The drunk not only destroyed my back and the SUV but our bank account since we have tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills now from the car accident. I was in perfect health before the accident but not any more, I was worried after the accident my life would go to hell and I considered hanging myself in our garage but I could not do that to my loving wife of 38 years so I did not. Now that I am getting stressed because I lost my girls I am definitely getting even more depressed and wishing I did because I am sick and tired of the pain and not being able to do anything except go to the hospital for help.

I truly understand. I am 4 years post-accident from a nut. I feel your anguish and only wish I were closer than GA to you. I'd share my flock of Orpingtons and RIRs with you. I'll be praying someone will be kindhearted enough closer to you to help you and wife through this situation. Be blessed my brother. Cluck on.

 

[Jac Jac]

I cannot think of any predator who would line them up in such a neat row, Heads all in the same direction, very suspicious!! Looks like a human to me.

Agreed. Here in Savannah, I'm near marsh land and the varmints are being kept at bay , along with the proverbial hawks with fencing, netting, you name it, we've got it. But I believe a double-legged varmint attacked your precious flock.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I read your post yesterday and it reminded me of something, and I finally found it!

Birds Dead

Chickens or ducks found dead in the yard, but without any missing parts, were likely attacked by a dog. Dogs kill for sport. When the bird stops moving, the dog loses interest, which is why you often find the victim of a canine attack near where it was killed. I once found a dozen of my fryers dead and lined up neatly on the walkway. I was trying to guess what kind of predator could have done such a thing, when my new puppy came bounding up with yet another fryer to add to his collection.

From this post : https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-is-killing-my-hens.103169/

The way that your wire is pushed up in the run looks like the work of an animal to me, despite the oddly deliberate staging of the bodies. A person would have no need to push apart the wire from the bottom. A human who was trying to hide their activities as the work of predators wouldn’t line the bodies up in such an unusual way. My guess is that your have an OCD predator that was interrupted and left before it could kill the last hen or consume the chickens. So sorry about your loss!

 

[I_Love_Ducks]

Woodmort, you have solved this! I searched online and within seconds found this website: https://www.trap-anything.com/signs-of-mink-present.html

"...Mink don’t usually eat the chicken, but will consume its blood. It is usually signs of mink present at the kill site if there are numerous birds killed and lined up in a row, as mink are known to kill more than they can consume.

Mink were common in NW Ohio, and I'm certain they are widespread. I saw one in Utah, also.

Sorry for your loss, as bad as it is, I think humans can be discounted. As I posted earlier, I thought the broken wood was from a dog. Can you find bite marks as the author at this website described?

 

[I_Love_Ducks]

Woodmort, you have solved this! I searched online and within seconds found this website: https://www.trap-anything.com/signs-of-mink-present.html

"...Mink don’t usually eat the chicken, but will consume its blood. It is usually signs of mink present at the kill site if there are numerous birds killed and lined up in a row, as mink are known to kill more than they can consume..."

Mink were common in NW Ohio, and I'm certain they are widespread. I saw one in Utah, also.

Sorry for your loss, as bad as it is, I think humans can be discounted. As I posted earlier, I thought the broken wood was from a dog. Can you find bite marks as the author at this website described?

 

[doublecrossranch]

Did he (OP) ever say where he is located? I hope the last hen has recovered.

 

[roosterhavoc]

So dramatic. The OP hasn’t been back in awhile so obviously everyone else cares more than them.
Regardless why would a human go to all that trouble? Maybe the OP has a dog?