What could kill and eat 30 chickens in 1 night and not leave a single body.

[Welshies]

Here in Alabama all we have are Eastern Coyotes. I've seen 5-8 adults chase a small deer across a field one winter.

Exactly... Eastern Coyotes do operate in packs and are not actually a true coyote. They have wolf blood, which is why they live in packs.
A pack would not raid a chicken coop though, it's not in their nature. They would chase a deer or raid a sheep farm, though.

 

[EggWalrus]

That would be totally annoying every darn day, but I have to say (from a safe distance all the way in Calleefornya) that it also sounds way hecka cool.

My valley girl slang from the 80s.

A Blackhawk landed right in front of me once, in a rainstorm, and then it took off. Just about the most awesome spectacle ever. I'll never forget how it sounded.

It can be annoying at times. Mostly they fly a pattern that takes then about 1/4 mile eat or west of me, but now and then they go right over the house. At just 150-200 ft overhead, even the Apaches shake the house when straight overhead. What is worse, when weather is bad and you're trying watch the news, the helicopter will mess with the tv signal. They have Blackhawks and Kiowa here too, but they seldom fly over, different airfield and different flight patterns. Just one of the joys of living on the edge of The World's Largest Rotor Wing Training Center!

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Here in Alabama all we have are Eastern Coyotes. I've seen 5-8 adults chase a small deer across a field one winter.

This is an article primarily on Eastern coyotes, it does include Western as well. Also, a simple search on either will bring up several sites, including Wikipedia that's all pretty say the same things.
http://www.coyotesmarts.org/coyotes101/
I am very sorry for your loss. I am certainly not an expert in predators, but coyotes live in close proximity to us. We have come across many dens in the rock crevices and small caves along our creek. So we pay attention to their habits and know when to expect them through our property.
I hope thing go well for you and your wife.
Please accept my apologies if my comments have upset or made matters more confusing. It certainly isn't my intention. Best of luck to you both.

 

[EggWalrus]

Foxes do climb trees. They can actually partially retract their claws- scientists call them a cross between a cat and a dog, because they have the characteristics of both. They are very cunning... worse than any other predator.

Grey Foxes are indigenous to America but Red Foxes aren't. The early colonists brought red foxes over from Europe to hunt because they got tired of grey foxes climbing up trees to get away from the hounds as soon as the fox hunt began.

 

[Welshies]

Grey Foxes are indigenous to America but Red Foxes aren't. The early colonists brought red foxes over from Europe to hunt because they got tired of grey foxes climbing up trees to get away from the hounds as soon as the fox hunt began.

Both Red Foxes and Grey Foxes can climb trees

 

[Mark Cavalli]

I have seen a lot of coon scat in my time and I think you have a family of raccoons they came in more than once that night and took all the birds one by one. I have seen it happen before without a trace but there was many raccoon tracks . That was the only way we could tell what did the damage and I am sorry that you had to go through that loss.

 

[Molpet]

Grey Foxes are indigenous to America but Red Foxes aren't. The early colonists brought red foxes over from Europe to hunt because they got tired of grey foxes climbing up trees to get away from the hounds as soon as the fox hunt began.

https://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/sciencef/scifi132.pdf

 

[EggWalrus]

I have seen a lot of coon scat in my time and I think you have a family of raccoons they came in more than once that night and took all the birds one by one. I have seen it happen before without a trace but there was many raccoon tracks . That was the only way we could tell what did the damage and I am sorry that you had to go through that loss.

The ground was frozen solid and they didn't leave any tracks. About all I can go on is the Modus Operandi and the scat.

 

[th_roster]

Coyotes do not I repeat do not work in packs. Moreso there is not one female per pack... that is a complete lie. Even wolf packs don't work like that.

http://www.foremostcoyotehunting.com/ read here not to mention may 40 years of trapping, and second there is one mature female per pack once the other female reach maturity the head female drives them off or there is a fight. Coyotes are a matriarchal society.

 

[Welshies]

http://www.foremostcoyotehunting.com/ read here not to mention may 40 years of trapping, and second there is one mature female per pack once the other female reach maturity the head female drives them off or there is a fight. Coyotes are a matriarchal society.

No they are not. Coyotes do not have packs, excluding Eastern Coyotes. On top of that there is not "only one" female per pack. Coyote packs that exist operate like wolf packs, and wolf packs definitely do not only have one female per pack. Your link says nothing about only one female.
Coyotes mate for life and a pair is the "alphas" of the pack. If the pack (which is really just a familial unit) stays together, any dominant pups are driven out. Usually males, which may mate with the alpha female... or the subordinate females. Females are the ones that stay. I have no idea where you heard your information, but please, do some research! I can get you some great links if you wish