URGENT!! CHICKENS MISSING?!

[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.

Found this about 30 yards into the woods to the right of our coop.

 

[cmom]

This happened years ago. I have several coops. One day I went out to the barn for something and I saw something odd so went to investigate. It was a dead bird. I looked and saw more dead birds and then saw a fox coming out from inside a pen under a gate with another bird. I'm pretty sure the fox would have stashed the birds but when it saw me it ran off. It came back. I put one of the bodies inside a circle of traps and caught the fox and eliminated it. It was a bit mangy and stinky. I had electric wires up but nothing at the gates. I have since put concrete under all of the gates and electric wires across the bottoms of the gates. Even though I see fox on my game cameras no more issues. Good luck...

 

[cmom]

If you have a camera put it up and then you should know for sure what is lurking. Again, good luck...

 

[50-45-1]

They were near our neighbor’s house who own a Great Dane

A dog will often times kill chickens for fun then carry one home. Not eating any because well fed dogs aren't hungry enough.
You will have to fortify your coop and run to protect your chickens from danger.
Otherwise they will soon all be gone.
Sorry this has happened,

 

[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.

We have a trap set, we heard a fisher or a red fox screaming somewhere tonight

 

[McChooky]

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

Yes!This is true!

 

[McChooky]

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.

No thief who ever stole from me ever warned me to watch what they intended to steal before they stole it.