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

[Mary's Backyard Chickens]

Probably a fox or a coyote.

2 months ago, I lost 2 of my chickens due to a predator sneaking into our yard in the middle of the night. They were gone, but left no body. I done some research, and what I found was unbelievable:

Foxes and coyotes are the ONLY predators that "steal" chickens. They take them to their house and feed their family with them, and if they have any leftovers, they would bury it in the ground. I found evidence of a predator being there: poop, paw prints (fox like), and some blood. That's all I found.

 

[EggWalrus]

I've narrowed my verdict down to two:

Raccoon or Fox.

If more of your flock turns up, I'd go with raccoon. If entire flock is gone, I'd go with fox.

Start searching your area for a fox den. Follow your nose. They are mating this time of year and they emit a strong scent. They will be close to a water source...and usually choose an area that drains well. Walk in a circle around your coop, increasing the diameter with each pass. Keep your head down for tracks. Look for their den in hollowed logs, holes with scattered dirt...think a dog digging a hole and any abandoned groundhog holes that have been enlarged. A fox would have brought the whole cache back to the den. There will be evidence.

You're talking about searching a lot of land between the river, the creek, and my neighbor's. I have about half of my 20 acres on this side of the creek. On the other side of the dirt road, it's about 400 ft to the river through dense woods. The chickens are housed about 100ft from the creek. They go down to a clearing i made for water mostly since they forage all day. The Swamp Fowl will wade down in it catching minnows, crawfish, and frogs . Behind me is a swamp that covers an area 1.5 miles by 4 miles long. Too much area for try to find them in. As for fox dens, years ago, I caught and raise red fox Kitts. It was always in Nov or Dec and they would be in an old gopher hole they had wallered out. This far south, New years would make the Kitts about 2-3 months old, and if even 2 months, the mother would be teaching then to hunt now. But thanks for your advise, everyone's input is welcome and needed to solve this mystery. I am gonna walk a search patten of an area about 500 x 500ft again this afternoon and see if I missed any sign now that is warmer.

 

[Mary's Backyard Chickens]

You're talking about searching a lot of land between the river, the creek, and my neighbor's. I have about half of my 20 acres on this side of the creek. On the other side of the dirt road, it's about 400 ft to the river through dense woods. The chickens are housed about 100ft from the creek. They go down to a clearing i made for water mostly since they forage all day. The Swamp Fowl will wade down in it catching minnows, crawfish, and frogs . Behind me is a swamp that covers an area 1.5 miles by 4 miles long. Too much area for try to find them in. As for fox dens, years ago, I caught and raise red fox Kitts. It was always in Nov or Dec and they would be in an old gopher hole they had wallered out. This far south, New years would make the Kitts about 2-3 months old, and if even 2 months, the mother would be teaching then to hunt now. But thanks for your advise, everyone's input is welcome and needed to solve this mystery. I am gonna walk a search patten of an area about 500 x 500ft again this afternoon and see if I missed any sign now that is warmer.

Yeah, I did the same thing. I searched EVERYWHERE i and I couldn't find my 'lost' ones. Like I said, prob a fox or a coyote.

 

[Mary's Backyard Chickens]

Plus, I saw no scattered dirt or holes or anything

 

[lazy gardener]

The reading I'm doing, (and I do not profess that the articles I'm reading are the know all of animal behavior,) state that the Vixen will scout out 2 - 3 likely possibilities in her territory for denning as early as November, and she will prepare her earth or den in December, which is prime breeding season. I wonder how the article I cited earler varies according to lattitude. It would stand to reason that fox breed earlier in the south than they do in the north.

 

[Below frigid]

Looks like canine scat not feline. It looks like vegetable matter in the scat. Coyotes do eat lots of vegetive matter. It varies on the time of year. Coyote scat can have hair but does not a lot of the time if not most of the time. With that many birds it was more than one animal like a pack. Pretty sure it was coyote's. Any tracks?

 

[EggWalrus]

I've narrowed my verdict down to two:

Raccoon or Fox.

If more of your flock turns up, I'd go with raccoon. If entire flock is gone, I'd go with fox.

Start searching your area for a fox den. Follow your nose. They are mating this time of year and they emit a strong scent. They will be close to a water source...and usually choose an area that drains well. Walk in a circle around your coop, increasing the diameter with each pass. Keep your head down for tracks. Look for their den in hollowed logs, holes with scattered dirt...think a dog digging a hole and any abandoned groundhog holes that have been enlarged. A fox would have brought the whole cache back to the den. There will be evidence.

You're talking about searching a lot of land between the river, the creek, and my neighbor's. I have about half of my 20 acres on this side of the creek. On the other side of the dirt road, it's about 400 ft to the river through dense woods. The chickens are housed about 100ft from the creek. They go down to a clearing i made for water mostly since they forage all day. The Swamp Fowl will wade down in it catching minnows, crawfish, and frogs . Behind me is a swamp that covers an area 1.5 miles by 4 miles long. Too much area for try to find them in. As for fox dens, years ago, I caught and raise red fox Kitts. It was always in Nov or Dec and they would be in an old gopher hole they had wallered out. This far south, New years would make the Kitts about 2-3 months old, and if even 2 months, the mother would be teaching then to hunt now. But thanks for your advise, everyone's input is welcome and needed to solve this mystery. I am gonna walk a search patten of an area about 500 x 500ft again this afternoon and see if I missed any sign now that is warmer

This makes me regret not buying the book of holes. It was descriptions and pictures of all the holes different animals make to live in, including diameter, to help you identify what animal lives in a hole. Just a bit safer than reaching and arm in and hoping for the best.

Reaching in and hoping for the best?

Unless I'm noodling for catfish, that sh!t ain't ever gonna happen!

 

[Mary's Backyard Chickens]

The scat looks like fox scat, but there's fruit and vegetables which is not surprising because foxes love berries and other fruits. I am convinced that this was a fox.

 

[happyfrenchman]

Not even Luther Vandross in his prime, could have eaten thirty chickens. Col Sanders maybe.... I almost missed (due to all the poop pictures) where you said that you found a few of your birds... Excellent. I would bet you there are alot more out there....
Here is a question... Had they ever been out before? Birds that have never been out, might want to get back home, but they do not know what home looks like from the outside. If they had been out before, you should have seen some stragglers coming in. but if not, they could be anywhere.

 

[PirateGirl]

Yeah, no actual reaching down holes for me... I tell my dogs (and I like to think they get it, but probably not) that they can dig as many holes as they want in the field but can't stick their heads in someone else's hole. I learned that badgers have been making the holes by my house, so definitely not reaching a hand in! I do not want to tangle with a badger.