Was it a cat? a hawk?

[Oneacre Homestead]

I found one of my cochin bantams in the dead in the yard yesterday. We have had this stray cat coming around lately, and last night I caught it in a trap. I am going to describe what was done to the dead chicken now..... Just warning you.... The head and neck were bitten off and eaten except for the beak. All my other chickens were hiding quietly in the henhouse, which they do not normally do in the daytime, so I think they must have seen it.
We have hawks around here, but they are pretty small ones, and there is this cat. Does anyone know if to sounds more like a hawk or a cat? I know lots of people say cats leave their chickens alone, but I have always had these hawks and never had them eat a grown chicken, even a bantam, and the cat just showed up a few days ago, which seems damning for the cat.... It is outside in the trap awaiting sentencing. I could let it go or take it to the pound.

 

[amillecay]

It sounds like a weasel to me!

I just had a weasel get into my chickens and at first it only took one then about a month later it came back and took all of them. weasels bite off their heads and suck the blood, sometimes you'll find the head gone or like you found it and sometimes it will still be on the chicken but you can tell where it bit them

 

[puss58]

It also could have been a raccoon. I doubt it was the cat.

 

[amillecay]

I also just found this https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-predators-pests-how-to-protect-treat-your-flock It has great info, I didn't know it was on BYC!

 

[Oneacre Homestead]

Yeah, once I had a raccoon do that, too. And hawks bite heads off, also, but I don't know what they do next.
Are weasels active in the daytime?

 

[amillecay]

I didn't know hawks do that, I've had hawks get my chickens before but have never had them bite a head off. Apparently the ones by me are, it happened in the morning probably between 9 and 12

 

[Oneacre Homestead]

Thank you amillecay!
I will try to find out if we have weasels In our area! I found a hawk In my yard once having just killed a pretty small and young chicken and it was not happy that I was chasing it away. It flew up to a tree and screeched. But all it had done so far was bite off the head.

 

[amillecay]

You're welcome!

Huh that's interesting maybe they are all different I've heard that they just rip up their pray, maybe it just happened to rip off it's head.

 

[Oregon Blues]

It could have been the cat. Cats are capable of killing chickens, especially if it is an abandoned cat and hungry.

The safe thing to do is to take it to the pound and turn it in. Stray cats can cause other problems besides possibly killing poultry.

The hawks, maybe. If they are small varieties, probably not, and hawks normally peel back the breast feathers and eat the breast, not the head. If your local hawks have started to kill chickens, then it is time for a safe run for the birds.

It is possible that it was a different type of predator, too. There are other possibilities. But take the cat to the shelter and wait and see if that solves the problem.