Rats? Racoon? What killed my young chicken? (Pics may be considered graphic)

[HeidiGretchen]

In 3+ years, the only predator to get into my coop was a cottonmouth. But this morning, when I opened the coop, I found 3 young (2 1/2 months old) chickens dead. 2 were clearly killed, the 3rd may have died of a heart attack or broken it's neck in a panic.
The 2 killed were laying where they sleep, in a corner behind the wire crate I had for when I first introduced them with the big chickens. (Some still sleep in it.)
One had all of its head and neck and one wing eaten, the other was missing its head but the neck was intact although featherless. The 3rd bird looked completely fine, no wounds, no missing feathers, just dead.
I did notice that a corner of the hardware cloth that covers the gate was out of place, so I'm replacing that damaged section today. That could have created a gap maybe 4 inches.
The other 9 younger birds who still sleep on the ground, as well as my 4 Peking ducks, were all unharmed. All the rest of my chickens roost high - 5 - 8 feet up.
We have killed 3 rats in the last 6 months, and found a cantaloupe in our garden partly eaten with what looked to me like raccoon claw marks in the skin. So, those are my 2 beat guesses.
Thoughts?
Oh, and we have a rooster who sleeps outside on a 3 foot high wooden bar, and he was not touched.
Putting out a game camera tonight.

 

[CHlCKEN]

There are a lot of animals that will only eat the head and neck, but based on the fact that you say it was just a corner of hardware out of place, I’d say it was probably a smaller animal that got in.

Raccoons are a lot bigger than people realize, much larger than a domestic cat and usually pull things out through small openings rather than squeeze their fat bodies in. They also usually eat the crop and its contents plus legs rather than just a head. Some may even eat most of the bird (seriously they’re not small animals).

I personally lost all but four of my sixteen bird flock to weasels a few years ago. Usually they will drag their prey away, but they might leave it behind if it’s too much work to drag back (perhaps the hole is not large enough). They kill in multiples with the intention of coming back to eat the rest later, and if you check the neck of the one whose head is still intact you may find the weasel’ distinctive bite mark.

In my opinion it’s between these two animals but I can’t say for sure which because of how similar they can be. Both eat the head and neck, may leave the body and kill in multiples. A weasel usually won’t eat a wing while a raccoon will, but a raccoon usually kills by decapitating. One of your birds has an eaten wing and another one has an intact head. I would expect both animals to pull the birds out instead of going in/leaving them in but neither took anyone away. All in all, I don’t really have any clues that tip the scale on this but hopefully I’ve narrowed down enough to be a helpful answer.

My questions; how large is the opening? Is there a bite mark on the intact bird’s neck? Those could help give an answer. You could also set out a trap by the coop if you really want to find out because I guarantee you this animal is planning to come back.

 

[HeidiGretchen]

Very helpful, thank you. I'm wondering about a weasel....

What worries me - an easy meal is enticing. The remaining 4 young chickens were afraid to go back into the coop, so I've closed them back into the crate (large dog crate covered in hardware cloth) inside the coop for nighttime. The other ground sleepers are 2 OEGB hens, but they can fly up if they want, 3 Wyandottes that are pretty large, and then the 4 Pekin ducks, also large.

As far as any bite marks, I saw none. The more eaten chicken didn't have any cuts, bites, tears, etc anywhere I could see, other than the completely missing parts. The other less eaten one, when I looked more closely, the neck bone was protruding, but the rest of the bird was undamaged. Feathers weren't even missing or roughed up.

The other thing I don't want to discount is could one of my roosters or other chickens have done this? One of them does get after the babies some. But other than pulling some fluff off their backs, I've never seen any if the bigger/older birds mess with the youngers.

I'll look into getting a trap. Game camera caught nothing last night. I put up a motion light above the coop entrance, but I can't count on that deterring everything. I repaired the hardware cloth. Opening could not have been bigger than a few inches. The section of damaged wire was maybe 3 inches high by 6 inches long, but the actual gap wasn't that big. The damaged piece got shifted, so maybe 3 - 4 inches at the biggest.

 

[CHlCKEN]

Very helpful, thank you. I'm wondering about a weasel....

They’re pretty destructive creatures unfortunately.

What worries me - an easy meal is enticing.

And 1000% going to draw the animal back until it find something better

The remaining 4 young chickens were afraid to go back into the coop, so I've closed them back into the crate (large dog crate covered in hardware cloth) inside the coop for nighttime.

Good call, much safer and eliminates the extreme stress factor if the animal returns to their coop.

The other ground sleepers are 2 OEGB hens, but they can fly up if they want, 3 Wyandottes that are pretty large, and then the 4 Pekin ducks, also large.

Ducks are really easy catches. Any ground sleeper really, but my ducks were what the weasels wanted and got to first.

As far as any bite marks, I saw none. The more eaten chicken didn't have any cuts, bites, tears, etc anywhere I could see, other than the completely missing parts.

Raccoons are more likely to kill by direct decapitation but a weasel may have just eaten the part it bit

The other less eaten one, when I looked more closely, the neck bone was protruding, but the rest of the bird was undamaged. Feathers weren't even missing or roughed up.

The other thing I don't want to discount is could one of my roosters or other chickens have done this? One of them does get after the babies some. But other than pulling some fluff off their backs, I've never seen any if the bigger/older birds mess with the youngers.

Absolutely not. Chickens won’t cannibalize to that extent (and when they do it’s usually sort of accidental), don’t worry about anything like that. This was undoubtedly a real predator.

I'll look into getting a trap.

You might can rent one from your local shelter. Most have cat traps available for borrow for TNR programs or anyone who needs to bring in a stray.

Game camera caught nothing last night.

Weasels are hard to catch on the cams usually.

I put up a motion light above the coop entrance, but I can't count on that deterring everything.

I’ve definitely found them to work for a little while, but eventually it’s something they learn to ignore.

I repaired the hardware cloth. Opening could not have been bigger than a few inches. The section of damaged wire was maybe 3 inches high by 6 inches long, but the actual gap wasn't that big. The damaged piece got shifted, so maybe 3 - 4 inches at the biggest.

Couldn’t have been a Raccoon, really must have been a weasel. They’re good diggers though, so you’ll want to make sure you also have some kind of skirt around the perimeter ready for when they try to find a new way in.

 

[McChooky]

I'm not convinced it was a coon because they can't squeeze thru small holes . Possums on the other hand are good at contorting and twisting their bodies and squeezing thru small openings. Chicks and eggs also fit the mo of a possum or skunk

 

[CHlCKEN]

I'm not convinced it was a coon because they can't squeeze thru small holes . Possums on the other hand are good at contorting and twisting their bodies and squeezing thru small openings. Chicks and eggs also fit the mo of a possum or skunk

Possums won’t kill multiples and almost always just go for crop content (from what I’ve seen at least). It’s definitely not a Raccoon from the hole size given, but I feel like a possum would try eggs before birds. Of course there’s no way to be sure without seeing it- not like the birds can tell us lol.

 

[McChooky]

Possums will kill multiple chicks

"One had all of its head and neck and one wing eaten, the other was missing its head but the neck was intact although featherless. The 3rd bird looked completely fine, no wounds, no missing feathers, just dead."

Possums don't kill their prey like a weasel. They'll grab it by the leg, wing, head or neck and just start eating it alive. (rats do the same thing ) A 5 watt bulb helps chickens to see and escape

 

[CHlCKEN]

Possums will kill multiple chicks

You’ve seen that? I never have, usually find them to be a lot less “brutal”.

 

[McChooky]

You’ve seen that? I never have, usually find them to be a lot less “brutal”.

Your chicks didn't have brutal injuries .Heads and wing eaten

 

[CHlCKEN]

Your chicks didn't have brutal injuries .Heads and wing eaten

Haha, brutal as in “ruthless” which many would consider a multi-killer to be (although it’s just in their nature.) Possums really don’t ever go after more than one at a time though, which is why I believe this better fits the MO of a weasel.