Pullet found with head and insides eaten

[Corey NC]

I went down to the coop this evening to close up and there was a GLW pullet dead beneath the nest boxes. Her head was gone and one wing barely hanging on and her heart and most of her insides were eaten but the legs and thighs and pretty much everything else was still there. None of the other chickens were touched

My first thought is a weasel but I am not sure if they are local around here. I walked the perimeter of the run and coop and saw no signs of digging or anything but it is possible for something small to climb the fence and slip through the deer neeting.

There are quite a predators that know of my chickens but none of the have these traits.

at least 4 different foxes:
Only ever attacked when chooks were free ranging.
Left a pile of feathers no body or carcuss.
Ate the chicken at the same corner of the field.

2 different skunks (one young one older):
Caught in traps many times.
Has gotten into coop and eaten eggs but has never touch a chicken.

1 (HUGE) black snake:
Eats eggs but I haven't seen him in a long time.

raccoons:
Pile of feathes.
Trail of feathers leading into the woods.
Pile of feathers underneath a tree.

opposumes(sp):
caught in traps but has never attacked chickens that I know of.

Anybody have any idea what attacked the pullet could be? I've put her carcuss in the trap so we may know by morning.

 

[eggchel]

Geez Corey, Im really sorry that you lost a hen right in the pen. I know how frustrating that is.
I lost several juveniles to possums last October. Right in a covered pen! The possums were somehow climbing and squeezing in somewhere, maybe under the edge of the netting. My DD set up a trap right at the gate and caught 6 young possums over a few weeks time. un

I hope that you are able to trap the predator before you lose any more girls.


Chel

 

[MandyH]

Sounds like an opossum

 

[Littlecimarron18]

in october i had a skunk break in and eat the head and insides of 20 of my 2 mo. olds.

 

[Corey NC]

Thats the thing, only one was eaten I've never had any predator only eat one chicken.

Also did the skunk eat any eggs? I had four eggs in the nest box and they weren't touched. Did you trap the skunk? How'd you take care of it?

 

[chickenfeed]

Sorry for your loss. Found the following on a website. Maybe a hawk?

Several birds killed; mauled but not eaten
Dog

Several birds killed; lots of small bites on body, bodies neatly piled, some heads eaten
Mink or Weasel

Several birds killed; heads and crops eaten
Raccoon

One or two birds killed; mauled, abdomen eaten
Opossum

One bird killed; head eaten
Hawk

Several birds disappeared, no trace
Humans

Missing limbs, birds inside fence
Raccoon

One or more birds dead / missing; no more than one removed; pile of feathers; those not removed with broken necks, clumps of feathers taken from neck
Fox

Chicks killed; abdomen eaten, lingering smell

 

[roosters97]

possum or raccoon i am guessing raccoon

 

[Littlecimarron18]

I didnt have any eggs comming at that time. THe skunk came again the next night but he was too big for my live trap. i found where it got in and i put a leghold trap there, I caught it that night.
a good way to catch a skunk is to get a large container, maybe horse traugh or something. and put some kind of cage on a 2 by 2 and then over the water it and an egg in one side so when it tried to get the egg the cage falls and the skunk will fall in and drown. this way prevents spraying also.