What in the world happen??

[spooklaw]

Got home last night, with only one of our ten chickens in the coop. Found one dead(breast half eaten) , and three hiding. The rest came back this morning. ALL of them are missing feathers. Two are hurt worse. There were feathers all the way around our house... Any ideas on what would or could do this at one time? All of this took place within a couple of hours. Thanks

 

[SAHMof2]

I am so sorry. Strange that they would only eat part of it and not drag it away to enjoy in safety.

 

[bertman]

Are you in the city or country? Do you have dogs running around loose? What wild critters frequent the area?

Were you not aware that leaving chickens out all day might invite some predation?

I'm sorry that you have lost your chickens. Sounds like you might need to reassess the predator situation in your area. Good luck.

 

[southerndesert]

I am thinking dogs as well.... How secure is the coop? Can a dog get in or Raccoon?

 

[spooklaw]

We live in the county. In the middle of nowhere! They are free range during the day, and we lock the coop up at night. No fence just a coop. We have lost 7 in the last year and a half. But nothing ever like this. From all the feathers we thought they were all dead. There is a dog who has gotten two. But it has never looked like this. What we don't understand is how something could get a hold of all of them in one time. It does not look like they were gotten out of the coop. But around it was feathers and then feathers all the way on the other side of our house. It was just strange to us. We know things will eat them or get after them, but this time it was how it was done that we just can't figure out!

 

[sourland]

Feathers all over the place and uneaten chickens is fairly typical of dogs, but it is impossible to rule out: fox, coyotes, fishers, coons, bobccats, and the myriad of other predators.

 

[Rebel Rooster]

Sounds K-9... dogs or maybe a fox or coyote.