I had two chicken casualties in the course of two weeks. I'm not really sure if they're related or not, but it's possible.
The first death was Light Brahma rooster. I had been letting the chickens free range for a while, and when I went up to check on them at around one or two in the afternoon, I saw a small bunch of feathers on the driveway and then a few hundred feet away, right next to the coop, a whole area of scattered feathers by a thicket. Nothing else. The rest of the chickens were, of course, all riled up. I believed, and still do believe, that that was most likely a fox, which I've seen around the area before, but the chickens are usually penned up so I don't have to worry about that. Could have possibly been a bird of prey.
The next death, which just happened today, was awful. First off, the bird killed was my prize pullet who I was going to show next week, and the scene was just awful. I'd been keeping my two show birds in a chicken tractor to keep them away from the roosters and to keep them clean, and I hadn't had any trouble with it for about four days. I had checked on them at one, and when I happened to pass by at around 2:30, something had gotten at them. I'm talking that there was feathers everywhere and a head left behind. Blood stains on the grass. The other girl thankfully ran away, and I was able to recapture her and put her back in the pen. I don't know if this was a fox, though. The wire door of the chicken tractor, which I secured with a large rubber bungee cord, was forced downwards and pulled back so that the culprit could get underneath the cord and at the birds. The opening itself is small, but the bird was definitely killed right outside of the cage. I'm wondering if it made an opening, then scared the chickens out? I'm not sure. There are a few feathers inside the tractor, but there is a huge amount by the tractor. The bird was decapitated; looks like the throat was torn out, but the rest of the carcass is gone. The feathers ended at our woods, otherwise no evidence after that.
Any ideas to what this might be? The fact of how the bird was killed and that it was in the middle of the day just stumps me. I could post a picture of the door of the tractor if it would help. Thanks much!
P.S. I scared away a fox earlier today, could that possibly be the thing that's killing them? I'm not sure if a fox is strong enough to do that to a door, and I don't think that foxes usually kill like that.
The first death was Light Brahma rooster. I had been letting the chickens free range for a while, and when I went up to check on them at around one or two in the afternoon, I saw a small bunch of feathers on the driveway and then a few hundred feet away, right next to the coop, a whole area of scattered feathers by a thicket. Nothing else. The rest of the chickens were, of course, all riled up. I believed, and still do believe, that that was most likely a fox, which I've seen around the area before, but the chickens are usually penned up so I don't have to worry about that. Could have possibly been a bird of prey.
The next death, which just happened today, was awful. First off, the bird killed was my prize pullet who I was going to show next week, and the scene was just awful. I'd been keeping my two show birds in a chicken tractor to keep them away from the roosters and to keep them clean, and I hadn't had any trouble with it for about four days. I had checked on them at one, and when I happened to pass by at around 2:30, something had gotten at them. I'm talking that there was feathers everywhere and a head left behind. Blood stains on the grass. The other girl thankfully ran away, and I was able to recapture her and put her back in the pen. I don't know if this was a fox, though. The wire door of the chicken tractor, which I secured with a large rubber bungee cord, was forced downwards and pulled back so that the culprit could get underneath the cord and at the birds. The opening itself is small, but the bird was definitely killed right outside of the cage. I'm wondering if it made an opening, then scared the chickens out? I'm not sure. There are a few feathers inside the tractor, but there is a huge amount by the tractor. The bird was decapitated; looks like the throat was torn out, but the rest of the carcass is gone. The feathers ended at our woods, otherwise no evidence after that.
Any ideas to what this might be? The fact of how the bird was killed and that it was in the middle of the day just stumps me. I could post a picture of the door of the tractor if it would help. Thanks much!
P.S. I scared away a fox earlier today, could that possibly be the thing that's killing them? I'm not sure if a fox is strong enough to do that to a door, and I don't think that foxes usually kill like that.
