Predator identification help please! *seek and destroy*

[Elsveta641]

Background:
Since the passing of my Liege Fighter rooster last month, I have lost over half my free range flock to predators. We are located in rural western Iowa which is in the central United States

What I know:
Predator takes grown hens, cockrels, grow outs and babies indiscriminately both single kills and in mass.

Birds as large as 12 pounds have been taken in broad daylight.

Predator is something that would have been frightened of a 14 pound, 32 inch high rooster but not a regular sized rooster, loud music or cats

Animal can manipulate and open 3 way latches and is strong enough to tear open pens made of anything but welded wire. Can and has chewed through 1x4 lumber.

Kills happen at all times of day and night, have happened in the barn, garage and yard.

Bodies are not always eaten but always show evidence of chew damage even when only feathers are found.

The predator prefers strong, large chickens. I have 2 disabled chickens who can hardly walk, they are never targeted even when used as live bait for a camera trap.

Cats previously thought guilty have been removed from our property or were in the closed up garage at the time of the most recent attack today except one. He was found cowering under a truck. The body of the hen has not been located after a thorough search leading me to believe he is not guilty. The search took place within 5 minutes of the attack based on when we discovered the feathers.

Lastly:
Photos below are of the "crime scene" today. Photos of mud in the area enhanced in an effort to identify tracks. A aerial map of the property with points of interest marked:
Purple is fox dens
Dark blue is where we have found raccoons or opossum living in the past.
Grey is woodchuck/prairie dog dens
Orange dots are locations of previous kills, bodies found and feather piles from attacks.
Red is location of today's feather piles
Light blue is my pens and the room that contains them.
Yellow is the rest of the poultry barn which is empty and not secured.
Large building is a large old barn used for straw and tool storage.
Green is our attached garage.
The farmers to the NW, NE and SE own dogs.

Below is the smaller feather pile right at the pens chicken entrance. Feathers did not extend into the pens.

this next photo is the main feather pile toward the center of the yard. Stray feathers trailed towards the driveway to the west, but not past the chicken door to the east. No feathers found in other directions.

Below is a close up of possible tracks between the two piles.

Lastly the chicken taken was the 1.5 year old Brahma on the left below. The picture was taken less than 24hrs sho.

Her name was Carrie and she is survived by her sister Samantha. She weighed about 9lbs.

 

[roosterhavoc]

I'm not sure how wise anything other than a live trap would be with cats, goats and small children here?
The overwhelming majority of kills have been fluffy egglayer types. Ameracurana, Bresse, Jersey Giant, Brahama etc. The majority of survivors are Asil, Malay, the random bred game types, Ayam Cemani etc. The Brahama sisters were our oldest hens and I attributed their survival to this point to their experience. There is a mostly naked Liege Fighter hen I've posted about before who was attacked and is the only one to live through it. The only game who have died are little ones and the Shamo hen who was brooding. I've heard noises that lead me to believe she is alive hiding somewhere on the property. The gametype have been much more lucky in these attacks.
It's also interesting that besides the adult kills have all been pale or white in color

The games just run faster or fly away a little quicker. The bigger bird that is still alive is because it’s bigger and could take an attack a little better.
Left unchecked foxes and coyotes will take every single chicken you have game or not. Gamefowl are no match for a fox. They are tougher than other chickens and small animals but that about it.
Most Guinea males or Muscovy drakes are just as tough. They do absolutely nothing to ward off attacks.
Very few people catch foxes in cages (yes I know it can be done and I’ve seen it myself) but it’s rare and in most cases not worth the effort. The majority of people are constantly losing birds to canines so they set cages and kill a few possums and raccoons then call it good til the fox or coyote comes again.
The trap choices and what’s legal there is up to you. The reality is you may have to change something. Either don’t let your chickens loose, put the cats up, don’t let goats wander, or just accept the losses.

 

[roosterhavoc]

What about setting bait, waiting and blowing its head off? Maybe I watch too much cartoons, but it seems a reasonable idea. I'm a good shot at the distance from say the garage to the middle of the yard. My husband can shoot an arrow well at 100 yards. But we shoot targets and cans and possums etc. Are foxes too smart to lure and ambush? We've thought about it before, but didn't want to stay awake all night outside like tweakers since we assumed a fox or dog would know we were there and avoid the area

You can do it at night with a red light but your cats are an issue. The eye shine is different and it takes awhile to see the difference at a glance when you only have a sec or two to decide whether to shoot or not.
It’s worth a try but plan on many hours sitting in the dark getting eaten alive by bugs.

 

[WthrLady]

And they lesrn your habits and stalk you and the flock until you are out of reach. Or not. Ive had one run right at me to grab a bird by my feet. We trap and snare with motion activated cameras that adea that alert to our cell phones so fox is immediately dispatched.

We use meat and cat food and fox scent as lure.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

A chorus of yips sounds like coyotes. Wolves have a long, gradually dropping howl, like -ow-OOOO-ooo-ooo.

 

[WthrLady]

From rural eastern Nebraska...it's a fox.

Background:
Since the passing of my Liege Fighter rooster last month, I have lost over half my free range flock to predators. We are located in rural western Iowa which is in the central United States

What I know:
Predator takes grown hens, cockrels, grow outs and babies indiscriminately both single kills and in mass.

Birds as large as 12 pounds have been taken in broad daylight.

Predator is something that would have been frightened of a 14 pound, 32 inch high rooster but not a regular sized rooster, loud music or cats

Animal can manipulate and open 3 way latches and is strong enough to tear open pens made of anything but welded wire. Can and has chewed through 1x4 lumber.

Kills happen at all times of day and night, have happened in the barn, garage and yard.

Bodies are not always eaten but always show evidence of chew damage even when only feathers are found.

The predator prefers strong, large chickens. I have 2 disabled chickens who can hardly walk, they are never targeted even when used as live bait for a camera trap.

Cats previously thought guilty have been removed from our property or were in the closed up garage at the time of the most recent attack today except one. He was found cowering under a truck. The body of the hen has not been located after a thorough search leading me to believe he is not guilty. The search took place within 5 minutes of the attack based on when we discovered the feathers.

Lastly:
Photos below are of the "crime scene" today. Photos of mud in the area enhanced in an effort to identify tracks. A aerial map of the property with points of interest marked:
Purple is fox dens
Dark blue is where we have found raccoons or opossum living in the past.
Grey is woodchuck/prairie dog dens
Orange dots are locations of previous kills, bodies found and feather piles from attacks.
Red is location of today's feather piles
Light blue is my pens and the room that contains them.
Yellow is the rest of the poultry barn which is empty and not secured.
Large building is a large old barn used for straw and tool storage.
Green is our attached garage.
The farmers to the NW, NE and SE own dogs.

View attachment 1863135
Below is the smaller feather pile right at the pens chicken entrance. Feathers did not extend into the pens.
View attachment 1863140 this next photo is the main feather pile toward the center of the yard. Stray feathers trailed towards the driveway to the west, but not past the chicken door to the east. No feathers found in other directions.
View attachment 1863142
Below is a close up of possible tracks between the two piles.
View attachment 1863143
Lastly the chicken taken was the 1.5 year old Brahma on the left below. The picture was taken less than 24hrs sho. View attachment 1863155 Her name was Carrie and she is survived by her sister Samantha. She weighed about 9lbs.

 

[cmom]

A few months ago something got a gate open to my grow-out coop pen opened. I'm sure it wasn't a coon. The only predators That were on the camera that points to that coop was a fox and coyote. It was a little foggy that night so I couldn't see what actually got the gate opened but whatever it was it must have gotten a shock because the pole next to the gate that the electric wire is attached to was knocked over. Two birds were killed. All I found next to the coop was some feathers. I wired the gates shut and the next morning I noticed the gate had been messed with. The only predator I had on that camera that morning was a coyote. Shortly after a fox came into the yard during the middle of the day while I was otherwise occupied and killed my very special hen that was out. I'm still mad at myself that I didn't leave her in her pen.
I have posted these pictures before.

 

[roosterhavoc]

I'm sorry about your birds, it is strange how they target the good ones, like our favorites taste better to them somehow :/
My camera caught nothing last night but the live trap in the barn was triggered yet empty. I think the roosterhavoc person is right, I'm going to have to get snares or legtraps. I hate those things, but I dont think I have much choice at this point. Besides letting whatever it is keep eating my birds.

They’re footholds and when set and sized properly for the animal you’re trying to catch they are perfectly humane. They are the same kinds of traps that have been used to reintroduce endangered species and help populations all over the world. Please don’t believe the myths you hear. Any redneck can set an inappropriate trap for an animal and cause damage. That’s the persons fault not the trap. Use your head and learn how to use them properly and you’ll be fine. If you don’t think the time is worth investing in learning how please don’t use them.
With all that being said a size 1.5 foothold with rubber jaws will not cause lasting injury to a free roaming cat. Still do everything in your power to keep them away. Same goes for snares.

 

[cmom]

Coyotes are everywhere. They try to avoid humans. Here they come out mostly at night.
Last nights visitor, a coyote. Most nights I see a coyote behind some of the coops. The lights in the background are more cameras. They actually don't light up but the inferred makes it look like they do.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I really have to agree that it is likely coyotes.

A rancher friend had a couple calves killed, a few injured and lost a full coop of chickens in one night.
It was coyotes.
Hunting was the next several nights.