hawk maybe
Hawk
No matter what you have heard hawks do attack and eat chickens. Considering that your chickens don't often look up when searching for danger, the hawks have a pretty high kill ratio, when they do choose to come after your birds.
Like the fox and coyote, they will often stake out opportune times to go after your birds. They usually do this while birds are free-ranging during the day, as opposed to most of the other chicken predators that attack at night. If hawks are prevalent in your area a good alternative might be to free range your birds in a chicken tractor to give them added chicken predator protection while they graze.
How will I know that it was a hawk that killed my chicken?
A chicken attacked by a hawk will look different than any other predator. Some birds will be missing and the ones that get away will be cut up, almost like they have been stabbed with a knife. The hawks sharp beak and talons can really do some damage.
I think it might have been a hawk too.
Last time my neighbors had an attack (i think) a hawk bit off a chickens head.
Anyways the hawk may have grabbed the chicken, carried it across the yard and eaten it. Or eaten what it ate... How far away was the pile of feathers from the body? Were there any claw marks on it, or do you think it was grabbed by the wing and dragged/carried across the yard. Maybe a hawk (if a hawk got it) came down grabbed it, causing the chicken to flap spraying feathers, carried it over to where you found the body.
Maybe when we find out what happened we can change this into a fun thread where we do random stuff (cough cough 'Should I buy eggs or wait it out')
i hate talking about it cause it makes me think that she suffered 
