Unknown Attacker, Please Help Identify!

[catlover8976]

Last night I locked my chickens up and saw that one was missing, our chickens roam round the garden and don't wander onto the road etc. There was nothing I could do about it so I locked them up anyway.

The next morning feathers where found a short distance from the hut but the hen was walking around quite happily. After closer inspection she had a large gash in her right leg. She's now resting in the locked hut away from the other chickens.

What attacker would make a large gash yet the chicken be able to escape?

(( Please note I live in the UK so Possoms, snakes, lizards and large raptors are not a threat. ))

 

[Judy]

I don't know; I expect something that she could fly up and escape. I've had to leave an errant hen out a few times, too. Sometimes they returned unharmed, sometimes not.

I thought this thread might be helpful to you, although it is probably mostly aimed at this continent:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=18670

 

[catlover8976]

Thank you for the link! Though the answer for a bite on the leg is an Opossom, but we don't get them here.

 

[sfw2]

Hate to say it, based on your screen name, but it sounds like an unsuccessful cat attack, to me.

 

[Cock-L-Doodle Garoo]

Not familar with your area's wildlife, but it sounds like a weasle, mink or ferret.
Those little devils got into a phesant pen I had sometime back. Went out that morning and blood was all over the place. Two were attached. One's head was kinda chewed up and the other got his lower leg bitten off. This was even in the pen that I thought I had button up pretty good. Over there across the pond on your island, are people allowed to buy/own ferrets? Sometimes people turn loose ferrets when they get tried of having them. They can be hard to control. Maybe try trapping them.

 

[catlover8976]

sfw2 Thank you for your reply, it might be, it did cross my mind. Though our chickens are a very large breed, Brahmas, see the pic at the bottom of the post.

Cock-L-Doodle thanks for the reply, yes people can own ferrets here, they also live in the wild here too. A weasle would be too small for the size of the wound but a ferret or mink might be the attacker. I'm also not sure if you can trap ferrets here, I don't know of any shops that would sell that kind of stuff.

Another thing to ask, could it be a rat? My dog has caught 3 over a month.