My guess is that they did this at night. My chickens find thier way into thier coop right before dusk and either nest or roost. Once the sun begins to set they go into a 'trance'. I could pick up my Japanese Phoenix at night without even a peep from him, I could not in a million years catch him during the day.
Also, the Snap-On sidecutters did have a number inscribed in it, which the sheriff pointed out to me while he was fingerprinting it. We also noticed that they appear to be new and the number was freshly scribed. He seemed to know the value of my birds, he said he has a daughter who used to show d'anvers. I am also going to meet with a Snap On sales rep I know this afternoon to see if we can come up with anything.
I will keep you all posted.