Preditor that can slide open chicken door take 8 chickens

[LindaMarieLaur]

My sister had 8 chickens taken two nights ago. She is away and someone is taking care of them for her. This person got up and went to take care of them in the morning and found feathers and 3 or 4 little mounds indented in the ground. This person says they slid the door to the coop and tucked them in the previous night and found the door wide open in the morning (tractor supply coop with slide door right to left. What preditor (assuming a group) after getting in the yard (easily accessible door frozen ajar) would go up the ramp, slide the chicken-entry exit door open right to left, take 8 chickens with no other sign except a few feathers scattered in the yard. (none outside the chicken yard)?

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

A raccoon can open sliding doors but won’t usually take more than one. A fox can also open a sliding door if it’s easily pushable and can and will take multiple animals.

 

[fldiver97]

Agree, raccoons are smart and have busy little hands. Those sliders are not very secure, check for scratch marks, dog, cat, fox may have been able to get the door open. Also humans..... some folks had chickens stolen. Maybe some of the chickens weren’t taken by a predator but ran off after the door was open? May be worth to look around, maybe shake a tin with some treats.... Consider a door that can be locked and/or place coop inside a run. Lots of good advice for predator proofing on this site. Good luck

 

[Kessel23]

How big were the chickens? Raccoons do take more than one bird quite often for me but they usually do not eat the full bird/birds. They also usually leave the birds in the run/coop but will take them out sometimes. If it was a raccoon you will find the bodies nearby. Unless they were bantams or juvenile birds it was not a raccoon.

Canines like fox and coyote will take multiple birds. They like to consume their kills away from the coop. Fox will cache their kills around in the fields or forests. Bobcats can also destroy flocks in one night. All of them can work a sliding door.

 

[Kat2141]

I think fldiver97 had some good thoughts... about the human possibility and even more likely that the others escaped with the door open. If something came in and got one or two, the rest didn't feel safe and left... definitely go out and call for them... and watch for them come night time, they may come back to roost. Or even during the day to lay.

 

[LindaMarieLaur]

How big were the chickens? Raccoons do take more than one bird quite often for me but they usually do not eat the full bird/birds. They also usually leave the birds in the run/coop but will take them out sometimes. If it was a raccoon you will find the bodies nearby. Unless they were bantams or juvenile birds it was not a raccoon.

Canines like fox and coyote will take multiple birds. They like to consume their kills away from the coop. Fox will cache their kills around in the fields or forests. Bobcats can also destroy flocks in one night. All of them can work a sliding door.

Thank you. They were full grown layers. Well maybe not all layers yet, but close if not

 

[LindaMarieLaur]

Thank you everyone. There are no sign of the birds nearby. I can check the woods behind a bit, but they are not nearby. Nothing left behind, just some feathers. I didn't see any claw marks but will check again. There is a yard but the door was frozen ajar and the caretaker propped a 4x4 in front of it but it could easily be knocked over by pretty much anything. I'm going to have my sister join the group after she gets home. I love all the great suggestions and help I get from this group. <3

 

[LindaMarieLaur]

I think fldiver97 had some good thoughts... about the human possibility and even more likely that the others escaped with the door open. If something came in and got one or two, the rest didn't feel safe and left... definitely go out and call for them... and watch for them come night time, they may come back to roost. Or even during the day to lay.

 

[LindaMarieLaur]

Thank you. I had wondered about humans. Any that made it should be back by now. They only roam on my sister's and one of her neighbor's properties. Still just 2

 

[LindaMarieLaur]

A raccoon can open sliding doors but won’t usually take more than one. A fox can also open a sliding door if it’s easily pushable and can and will take multiple animals.

A fox can get inside a coop through the smaller exit/entry door and will take 8?