what decapitates without consuming? *new info and new pics Pg.4*

[xC0000005]

I'd go with coon. I had one tear up my flock after finding a way in (my yellow lab, which usually guards the chickens was sick and not doing much at the time). I found a few with heads torn off. I'll second the "use your girl as bait" advice. I figured she'd already died, and I couldn't even eat her, so I did the best thing I could. I won't detail what happened to the racoons but there are four less now, and I figure for every one I catch there's ten I didn't.

 

[kari_dawn]

Okay, now Im worried, and less inclined to believe it to be a raccoon

I just found a den in a pile of old rotting railroad ties. I pealed it back looking for things for my girls to forage, our trusty minpin x blue heeler by my side to protect me from big bad rats, and I found that one had rotted all the way through the center. When I turned it over, it fell apart to reveal more of Clover's feathers and a small piece of tissue about eight inches inside the mouth of the opening. The chamber goes down the length of the railroad tie, and into a dirt hole that was as deep as the length from my finger tips to my elbow, and about as big around as a coffee can.

Sai investigated for me. He is 20lbs of dog, and an excellent mouser. He even cleans up after himself by burrying the rats he dispatches.


As you can see, the railroad ties started out butted up to the concrete wall. That leads me to believe it was something like a mink/weasel, or a rat...and I am leaning towards mink just because I know a rat may take something after it's dead, but I found them and moved them to the completely oposite side of the yard within hours of them dying.

This is two halfs of the same railroad tie, in the pictures, you can see the clump of feathers that once belonged to Clover.





The tie had a chamber that went all the way through, and opened out the bottom at the far end into a dirt den.





So, what do you guys think?

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

I think you should start digging! Destroy it's den, and maybe it will move on....

 

[WalkingWolf1]

A buddy of mine ended up losing 20 from his flock pretty much how you described your experience. Heads off, spread out (apprears to be in chase). It was a mink. If that hole was at my house I'd have all kinds of fun. I'd throw a smoke bomb then maybe a pack of firecrackers. Next I'd get the garden hose and fill it full of water and wait with a shotgun. Sorry to hear about your losses. Tomorrow will be brighter.

 

[Mike Winters]

see how much water it can hold and put the dog on guard duty in front of the hole

 

[kari_dawn]

ha ha too late...as soon as Sai started inspecting, it was all over. Sai is nothing if not thorough! What do you get when you combine the manicly endless energy of a minpin and the intellegence and problem solving skills of a heeler? This guy. Looks like an empty koi pond now!





but im concerned that if it IS a mink, it can still get into my coop :/

 

[kari_dawn]

well, so far looks like the bugger has moved on...though one of the polish in the flock decided to roost inbetween the wire top and the corrugated roof on top of the coop instead of inside it tonight...glad she made it through the night...

 

[scrabbles]

really sorry you lost your chickens and i know how you feel!
i live in England so dont have all of the preditors you have but your problem may have be caused by owls or even rats and foxes. as odd as it sounds rats and foxes work together so it could be a combo. My three darling chucks got killed last year at new year and we couldnt find two but one was left and it had bite marks that were to small to be a fox. also there were two pairs of fox tracks in the garden. we also found four wings and LOTS of feathers and a few bits of leg.
later on in the week we discovered a rat with lots of feathers in its hole. so we think the rat bit my darlings and poisened them while the foxes killed them when they were weak and left some for the rat.
if you do discover rats leave rat poisen by all means but make sure it is bright so you dont put it in their coop and make sure that you lock the door. (i was away so my dad looked after them and one of my bantams died later that dday of poisening :,-( )
good luck at finding out what horiible animal killed your lovely birds and you dont get anymore unwanted visits

good luck!!!