We used to have 6 chickens (just my little backyard flock) and we would let them out of their coop and then put them in again at night. we did this everyday... after a month or two of doing this when they were all full grown we started loosing chickens in broad daylight. there were never any messes of feathers and such and they only took one chicken the first time. they took my buff orpington ginger. the next time they took two chickens, my barred rock and my Deleware... the next day we see the barred rock panicking outside of the coop because we hadnt let the remaining three chickens out. what animal could this have been? i live in an area populated with many trees so it could have been an eagle... there are also occasional mountain lions but usually the city raises a hulabaloo whenever one of those pops up... could it have been a fox or a racoon? they might have left a mess and it was in broad daylight, and we let the chickens out in a little area that is open and grassy although it isnt fenced in... Please help because we are now up to 6 chickens again and they arent happy that they dont get run of the property anymore. also does anyone have any ideas how to prevent against loosing more of my girls?
I lost 5 last night, it was as if they never existed. I do know that hawks tend to leave a mess of feathers. Coyotes and foxes do not. I do not know about eagles though. We have them about 25 miles southest of us.
Since birds near or actually adult; fox, coyote, bobcat or mountain lion (in that order) could be cause. Avian predators will leave feather pile of some sort.
