We lost 11 layers last night....

[Crs1]

They were scattered around the area. I am thinking it was dog(s). They weren‘eaten at all just dead
This is my question. We had 30, 8 are left and my husband counted the 11. Could the other 11 still be alive and roosted in the trees or Hiding in the cornfield? and if that is a possibility will they come home , how long will it take to see them? The coop is surrounded by woods and a corn field. I am sure they are scared and traumatized
thanks
Connie

 

[Ihavesomechickens]

You can really only wait and see. Maybe try looking around and see if you find evidence of them. Lay out bait like feed and yoghurt to get them to come back.

 

[Perris]

so sorry; that's horrible.
To identify the culprit(s) you'll need to examine the bodies; different predators have different MO.
Yes there may well be members of flock in hiding. They may make their way back over the next few days; here's hoping for that.

 

[Crs1]

Someone said it could have been otters. I guess the question is what could kill so many while they were free ranging?

 

[Folly's place]

I'm so sorry!
Dogs or coyotes, or foxes, are the most common daytime killers, and whoever it is will be back! If you can find fresh tracks, that would be helpful, and seeing how far apart the bite wounds are, as in how far apart the canine teeth are, helps narrow down the culprit too.
Meanwhile, your survivors need to be in a very safe coop and run until this is resolved!
Having a game camera out there would help, and live traps, depending on who did it.
Mary

 

[birdlover2]

They were scattered around the area. I am thinking it was dog(s). They weren‘eaten at all just dead
This is my question. We had 30, 8 are left and my husband counted the 11. Could the other 11 still be alive and roosted in the trees or Hiding in the cornfield? and if that is a possibility will they come home , how long will it take to see them? The coop is surrounded by woods and a corn field. I am sure they are scared and traumatized
thanks
Connie

Sounds like dogs to me. The first predator attack we ever had when I was growing up was when we had 14 chickens. One day, we heard terrible noises in the early morning, and we got up and there were two little dogs running around and dead bodies scattered everywhere. The dogs looked like Cocker Spaniels, and ironic enough once they were rounded up by animal control and we drove around asking for owners, we found they were owned by a police man and they'd gotten out of his fenced yard. Anyways, the point is it sounds very similair to your attack. Bodies scattered everywhere, none of them look eaten. One of our chickens, Shadow, dissapeared, but came back a few days later in the day-time, just fine. We lost 7/14 overall. I think the number that survived only did mainly because a neighboring buisness that loved the chickens took in the ones that fled their way, it was a horrible incident, and a harrowing introduction to the loss side of chicken keeping. So sorry for your loss of chickens I hope your remaining girls find their way home.

 

[iwltfum]

Someone said it could have been otters. I guess the question is what could kill so many while they were free ranging?

Do you have otters in kansas city? Maybe they meant weasles or mink? Sounds like a big animal though to have scattered them so widely and to have taken so many. Do you have big cats around like bob cats or mountain lion? I lost a whole bunch of young birds one time in colorado and the few that I found were scattered all around and the dept of wildlife figured it was either bob cats or young mountain lions.

 

[along121]

I have had several chickens to predators. The fox doesn't even leave a feather. Takes the entire chicken home for dinner as does the bobcat and coyote. Dogs just have fun like they are stuffed animals. A Hawk and an owl will grab and go. A 7lb chicken is quite a haul, but i've seen them do it. A dog broke in my fenced yard in the afternoon while I let my chickens dig around my flower beds. Tossed 3 of mine all around. Broke their backs etc... He was so proud and didn't realize what he did was wrong. It was horrible. My best hen, Rosie hid. It took me an hour to find her. I carried her back to the coop and she hid for 3 days. I would be out calling chick, chick, chick, during the day time. I don't know why any animal would kill and only take some. I'm betting on them hiding up in the trees or deep grass.

 

[keesmom]

Someone said it could have been otters. I guess the question is what could kill so many while they were free ranging?

Maybe they meant fishers? Not sure you have those.

Foxes and coyotes can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time. I've had complete flock wipeouts to both.

 

[Folly's place]

I had a daytime fox attack years ago, and he killed ten nice hens one afternoon, seen by a neighboring workman. it was a sick mangy fox who probably couldn't hunt at night, and he returned during the day the next day, and was finally shot during the day by another neighbor who had that necessary clear shot at him.
I wouldn't think that an otter, or weasel type critter, would be successful in multiple kills during the day.
Mary