What got my chicken?

[jed1154]

Something got my bantam rooster. Sometime around 9pm, at or around dark. It went into the coop, got it, left, all seemingly without a trace. No blood, no evidence of a struggle, just the one bird. What I did find later the next day was a clump of feathers in the knot of a tree right next to the coop. Still, no body, just feathers. What does this sound like? Why did it only get one little rooster, and why did 9 chickens and three guineas not make enough fuss or fight to ward it off? Tonight, I did SEE a raccoon in the run. I understand these carry diseases and of course are hell on chickens. I figured if he got one, then he will get more when he figures out how to chew through the wire covering their windows.

I dispatched him with the semi auto .22 LR. I HATE to kill things, especially those that are just living and doing their thing, but I understand they carry diseases.

SO....any ideas, you think this was the work of the raccoon or a possum, because we have both. Raccoons are the only things i have seen IN the run. If so, they are neat and tidy about it.

 

[SweetMissDaisy]

If the roo was small enough, the raccoon could have, and would have, packed it off. Larger birds they tend to eat at the kill site, or close to it. Sorry for your loss... we had our own run-in with a crafty raccoon last fall. Ours FINALLY caught the same fate as yours ... but it took us a LOT longer to finally get him.

 

[Lollipop]

jed, usually coons and possums don`t carry anything away. A banty rooster could be small enough, but usually it`s a fox or the like that carries them away. You`re right, whatever it is will be back. May not be the first or second night, cause it`s got a full belly. Probably the third night. Be prepared and fortify your coop. If it gets many more, let me know and I`ll turn you on to The Recipe........Pop

 

[basicliving]

We haven't had trouble with coons or possums - and coons may not always carry off their prey, but I can tell you my cousin shot one at 4AM that she caught carrying a broody UP a tree by a leg! She as jolted awake by the chickens making a racket and caught the coon redhanded. And it was a decent sized hen.

 

[jed1154]

Yes, the bantam was very little.

I have seen no foxes around my place. I have seen possums and raccoons around, with raccoon for sure being in the run. This was just at sundown, about 30 mins before I closed teh door. The rooster was very little, he wasnt a very big guy. I suppose it drug him up the tree, killed him, and then took him to where it was to eat. The coons go over the fence and through the netting to get inside the run. I really expected to find the rooster dead soemwhere.