URGENT!! CHICKENS MISSING?!

[Is that an Egg?]

UPDATE: We found another dead chicken missing a head and feathers from three different birds. They were near our neighbor’s house who own a Great Dane. Coyote, dog, or fox?

We came outside and only 6 out of 18 young chickens were left. We are in Wisconsin and it is the middle of the day. What confuses me is that we found the 7th chicken, about ten feet from the coop dead. Didn’t have any obvious wounds, no blood. There were a few feathers but that was it.

Where the hell did the other 11 go? These were specialty breeds, beautiful chickens.

What I also find strange is that a few days ago a lady drove to our house, pulled into our driveway, and told me to keep an eye on the chickens because of foxes, and then she backed out of our driveway and went back the way she came.. is it just me or is that weird as hell? It was as if she only drove in this direction to come to our house.

Is it normal for foxes or coyotes to come in the middle of the day and leave no trace except for an intact dead chicken? Should I be worried about a person rather than an animal? We are really hoping they just ran off scared or something.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Foxes and coyotes have taken chickens here in the middle of the day. So yes, it is normal.
Your most common daytime predators are coyotes, dogs and hawks but I have had mink and fox attacks in daylight.
If you build it, they will come.

Many of your missing chickens may have just gone into hiding and will return.

 

[nuthatched]

That's fishy to me, a fox, even a bunch of foxex can't take 11 chickens. How are they housed? I'd call the sheriff and describe the lady and her car for suspected robbery. See what they advise you to do, then I'd put ads in the local paper/radio station/facebook that you're looking for a thief.

 

[nuthatched]

Foxes and coyotes have taken chickens here in the middle of the day. So yes, it is normal.
Your most common daytime predators are coyotes, dogs and hawks but I have had mink and fox attacks in daylight.
If you build it, they will come.

Many of your missing chickens may have just gone into hiding and will return.

Good point, beat the bushes, so to speak, if you can't find them or don't come back by tonight, proceed as necessary

 

[Geena]

A vixen and her kits can easily take a couple of dozen young chickens. They kill them all first, then carry them away.

 

[Lollychicken]

We had a good 11 pullets. Found 6 dead, 1 injured, and 1 untouched because she flew into the next yard along. No idea where the others went, but there were small paw prints near our back gate and a tiny hole dug (the ground is too hard so they would have given up) only 2 of the dead ones had obvious wounds. We are sure it was a fox and they will kill all the chickens and just take a few and come back for the rest. Make sure you keep an eye on your chickens.
If possible I would set up a camera around your chicken pen and your house so you can figure out what does it if it happens again

 

[Folly's place]

That lady did what I've done in the past; warned other people in my area who had poultry that there's an active predation issue with foxes.
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

We had ten nice hens killed one afternoon by a fox, seen by a visitor at the neighbor's. Dogs can do the same thing. Young birds would be even more vulnerable!
Keep your survivors in their safe coop and run!
Mary

 

[Is that an Egg?]

A vixen and her kits can easily take a couple of dozen young chickens. They kill them all first, then carry them away.

Is it still likely even though we haven’t found a trace of it? There’s no blood, only feathers we see are by the dead chicken, who looks intact. Could a hawk have tried to get one?

 

[Geena]

Is it still likely even though we haven’t found a trace of it? There’s no blood, only feathers we see are by the dead chicken, who looks intact. Could a hawk have tried to get one?

It's possible, I had a mom and kits take a bunch of 3 month old chicks and a 2 year old rooster. The only feathers and blood we found were from the rooster. We did find several later, hiding in the bushes, so don't give up hope yet.