Predator kills all chickens at one time.

[bhoyt]

A predator hit my small flock of hens inside the chicken house at night. Killing all. It was strange in that most of the heads had been bitten off and all twelve chickens had not been carried off, but the predator cover each chicken with straw and did not eat any.

I live in Louisiana in a wooded area, been raising chickens for years and never had an experience like this.

Any ideas what may be the predator?

 

[Boyd]

Quote:
coon

 

[CityClucks]

We had a badger do this with our flock - killed almost all our birds and tried to bury some of the bodies - we found where the badger had tunneled into the coop and the tunnel was filled with dead birds. So sad - I'm sorry.

 

[95yj]

^perhaps i'm mistaken, but i don't think badgers live down south, sounds kinda like a weasel or fisher or that kind of thing. They usualy kill every bird, remove the heads, and don't eat any. Not sure about a coon, i think they generaly eat more of the guts and don't kill quite as many birds. not sure about the burying. sorry.

 

[arch_cpj]

98 percent chance its a coon you need an electric fence and or a coon trap coons are the most wasteful they will kill a whole flock of birds bite a few eat a few heads but leave the rest do the same to cord thay will eat 2 ears but bite 200

 

[midwestmilkmaiden]

I just had the same thing happen to me last night!

Came out to hide eggs for the Easter Bunny early this morning and looked out into the pasture to find 7 dead chickens strewn about all over.. nothing apparently wrong with them but definitely deceased!...

Can't figure out what it was.. 3 of the chickens roosted about 10 foot up at night!.. so I'm stumped!

Hope you get some answers!

 

[yotetrapper]

While it may be any number of critters, tearing off heads is defintely characteristic of coon.

 

[Kim_1970]

Sorry for your loss

 

[chickensioux]

Oh no, does sound like a coon. So sorry for all your losses.

 

[littledel]

I am betting it was a mink. I had a friend that used to operate commercial chicken houses that had 165 of theirs killed over a day or two and they ask me to help. I put out traps at a small creek that ran close to the poultry houses and caught 3 mink in a couple of days. They didn't lose anymore chickens and I got permission to hunt and fish at their place for life. LOL