Something killed two of our favorites.

[NYChicks345]

Something got two of our chickens today... I let my chickens free range and have not had a problem with predetors until today.. Whatever it was all that was left was feathers....a black silkie Roo named cuddles ( because he loved to cuddle) and one of our giant blue cochins... My two boys are devestated. I guess for the most part my two labs chase everything away. They were inside the house today.. Like I said nothing but feathers... My oldest boy said he say a cat running away when he went out to check on the chickens... Will a cat eat everything but feathers ... I only found two little clumps of the blue cochins feathers... No bodies found. Very upsetting.... Seems like it is always your favorites that get killed. This happened between 8 and 4... Daylight hours... Was it the cat or something else?

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Sorry to here you lost 2 chickens. I doubt it was a cat. Raccoons and other predators considered nocturnal can take there opportunities during the day too. Be careful, once the predetor has found an opportunity, they may keep coming back.

 

[NYChicks345]

Just lost two more today.... 10 hawks were circling the sky... Caught one eating our buff Orpington ... Ran around and cought the other chickens and locked them up.... I think hawks are migrating south right now... That must be why there was so many of them.... Very sad weekend.... My little boys are traumatized

 

[LT]

M&JPloss :

Just lost two more today.... 10 hawks were circling the sky... Caught one eating our buff Orpington ... Ran around and cought the other chickens and locked them up.... I think hawks are migrating south right now... That must be why there was so many of them.... Very sad weekend.... My little boys are traumatized

I am so sorry. We lost one of our girls to a hawk on Wednesday, and yesterday, our girls survived another aerial attack, even though my husband was standing 20 feet from them when the hawk swooped in. Now when we let them out we are both out there with the dog too.​

 

[ChickcrazyCharlie]

Sorry for everyones loss. I know how it feels, I caught a hawk killing a silkie. Earlier in the day it had killed a bantam Cochin. Hawks are one of the worst predators to deal with.

 

[Gvnam]

Sounds like what happened to m one pullet. A hawk got it. Hawks will pluck them. The hawk pulled the chicken through 2x3 wire and took it up into a tree. Saw it fly off and then found the body. Just feathers and some other insides.