What could take a BIG bird cleanly?

[BrandySC]

What kind of predator could take a big bird during the daytime, without leaving a trace? I'm so disappointed, my Cornish Rock vanished from the flock yesterday. (No coop break-in, free ranging on 3 acres.) She was a big bird, easily over 10 lbs. There is not a drop of blood, not a single feather. Because of her size and the lack of mess I'm thinking it couldn't be hawk, dog, bobcat, raccoon. I'm in a part of Arkansas with no bears or weasels. Coyote is the only thing my mind can circle. Or a human. She was the slowest moving of my mixed flock, because of her size, and we've honestly wondered if someone caught her and snatched her! We've put up two game cameras but the damage is already done and I'm honestly not expecting to see anything on film. I failed her so badly.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
I'm so sorry for your loss.
Any canine bigger than she was could do it. Raccoons usually make a mess right in place, and you'd be the one to know if people are a likely risk where you live.
Whoever it was will return! The game cameras are a very good idea, and lock your birds inside for now.
Mary

 

[Bear1978]

A bobcat would most likely stalk its prey, ambush and pounce on it, break its neck and then carry it away to a safe place to eat it. So there would be minimal if any trace of the attack.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I have had bobcat and coyotes take birds without a trace

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Bobcats can take prey several times their size, around here they take young goats, so one could definitely make off with a 10 lb chicken.

I'm very sorry you lost your hen. Please don't blame yourself. Predators do what they do, sometimes despite our best efforts.

 

[neo71665]

Yeah we have cougars here but they generally hang around the river systems. Don't often venture out. We also have black bears. Don't let the game and fish fool you. I'm down south in Cleveland county and we have bear pictures on our game cams, where G&F keeps claiming they are not. They claimed we didn't have cougars either for a long time until we all kept posting pictures of them on their FB page. Then they tried to claim they might be around but are not breeding so we have started posting pics of lions with cubs.

All that said our fox and coyote population has been booming in the last decade. They have been getting braver and more bold around here. When I was a kid seeing a fox was rare, coyote was almost unheard of. Now I'm popping them out of my pasture mid day.

Good luck finding your bird.

 

[Sarkchick]

So so sorry. I'm in SE Arkansas and had a coyote take a LB chicken at a dead run. Not a single feather on the ground. Would not know what happened if I had not seen it.

 

[TARDIS37379]

My experience with bird loss with no evidence of a kill has been an owl or an eagle. We have several types of owls here that will take a chicken and carry them a good distance before stopping to kill and eat.
I’ve only lost one chicken to an eagle and it flew off out of sight with a 5 pound RIR in the talons.
I now cover my runs and limit free range when I’m outside.

 

[Bear1978]

Well I’m here in north central Arkansas and it’s very windy today and my pullets are all hiding out in the coop and not wanting to go outside.

So if you free range maybe she’s just hiding from the wind like mine are?

 

[BrandySC]

Well I’m here in north central Arkansas and it’s very windy today and my pullets are all hiding out in the coop and not wanting to go outside.

So if you free range maybe she’s just hiding from the wind like mine are?

I would like to pray that's the case but we've combed the whole property and can't find her. They generally stay pretty close together and she's not in her usual favorite spots. She didn't come to the coop at bedtime last night and she wasn't there this morning. I'm afraid she's gone.