Something is killing our birds during the day

[Yep I Talk To Chickens]

Is the breast chewed if so its a racoon
If not its a weasel and they will dig under the fence and will fit into tiny spaces. And weasels can climb. It's NOT a hawk.

 

[esme13]

It sounds like a weasel or something along that family tree. You will need to fully enforce and close all areas. You could even set up a small game camera and a small trap as extra methods. For some reasons those small mammals like to remove the heads.. they will come back.

 

[esme13]

I would also use hard wire , i know it’s costly but it will last a long time. For a roof we have a clear sheet almost like a plexiglass but not.

 

[reddogmaster2]

Hardware cloth over the top of the run.

Trail Cams are a wonderful thing. Get one or two.

 

[Chickenhappy8708]

I can take a pic tommarow... But we used regular chicken wire acrossed the top, then used all of our scraps of hardware cloth to ziptie together, its very effective, again, ill take pics.

 

[Ferd Berfel]

Our weasel or mink ate a hole in the neck of everything. Nothing left alive.

 

[esme13]

We use the galvanized wire about 1 inch I believe in between. Nothing has gotten in and it doesn’t rust. It keeps the foxes , raccoons and other predators out.

 

[centrarchid]

Where is OP? This going down trail of folly without input from OP.

 

[GC-Raptor]

head cut off. I'm thinking about bird netting over the entire area now.......will that work? I don't know if it is a hawk or if something is climbing over the fence......but it happens during the day. Ideas?

Around here I've seen Bobcat and Fox on camera during the day.
If your fence is 4 feet or lower a Fox could get over it.

I suspect a hawk in your situation. Around here Coopers Hawk are common and attacked my 7 months old Golden Comets 3 1/2 years ago, around 10:30 am. Luckily I heard the commotion and ran outside.
Hawk flew into a tree. Feathers were everywhere, but chicken survived.
I now have Deer netting over my pens, it won't keep out mammals, but my coops are closed up after sunset.
I haven't had an Arial attack since I put it up.

A game camera is a good thing to help identify what's coming around day and night. Two cameras minimum on opposite sides of coop.

GC

 

[Chickenhappy8708]

Wow, scary and cool, we don't have bobcats around here! Well, we do, but they stay in the woods.