What got my girls?

[LuckyFarrell]

Three out of my four hens were killed while my wife and I were out of town. Father-in-Law was supposed to be locking the coop at night, but I have a sneaking suspicion he didn't. My brother in law found them in the morning in different areas of my yard, the carcasses were found intact not a mark on them, but he said there were feathers everywhere. From what I've read in other posts I'm thinking it was a neighborhood dog, but didn't know if there were any other predators that would leave birds intact. Thanks for your help

 

[chicmom]

Aww very pretty hens...I am so sorry......Probably a dog just played with them until it killed them.........My neighbor's dog came over to my backyard, which is quite a ways away from their yard, and this dog had one of my laying hens pinned down and was ripping her feathers out.

Lucky for me I just looked out my kitchen window at the right time, and I yelled at the dog and he ran away. Whitey, my hen was unharmed, not one drop of blood, but feathers everywhere! I was shocked!

My guess is dogs! Again, so sorry this happened to your little flock!

HUGS,

Sharon

 

[dlee]

Quote:
We lock up our our coop every night & still lost one chicken every night for two weeks. Each one was almost all eaten. We thought the coop was completly varmit proof. Then we saw an owl in a large tree.

After checking the coop, we finally found two uncovered spots up in the rafters. After covering these, our birds were very safe. Haven't lost any since ( 5 months )...

 

[galanie]

I vote dogs too. I dream of a day when pet owners will be responsible. Both dogs AND cats should be kept so they cannot roam. Both can be harmed and killed easily by roaming free, especially by the irate livestock owner.

 

[chicknsnbiskits]

When a neighborhood black lab "played" our bird to death, she had hardly a mark on her anywhere. Sounds like a dog, probably a bird-dog breed.

 

[alchik]

Once those dogs know about the birds it'll be pretty difficult to keep them away. Best to keep them enclosed if possible or only out when you can keep watch.

 

[ECBW]

I lost 3 birds last year similarly to your scenario. The difference was that 2 birds were nowhere in sight. The chicken farmer lady said it was the MO of foxes.

I do not fault the foxes. It happened because the humans had become complacent about locking up at dusk!!!!!

 

[karimw]

I've had a couple random disappearances I attribute to coyotes, and also a coon attack that left the birds headless, but we had neighbor dogs come in and kill 15 birds in broad daylight. Just killed and left them. Very frustrating

 

[LuckyFarrell]

Thanks everyone. There are so many dogs in my neighborhood, who knows who the culprit could be. I guess my next door neighbor's black labs are the prime suspects. Here's a pic of the newbies I got to keep the soul survivor company.

 

[mrszlopez]

ive had a lot of issues with my chickens being killed, but left in tact. it wasnt a dog , but we did spot a fox in the yard one day. sorry for your loss