what is doing this?

[southpaw52]

So here's my story and I'm sticking to it!! Our neighbors have chickens - loose in the yard. We have chickens...locked up so tight nothing has gotten them ...yet. We have dogs, loose in the yard, fenced of course. Twice now our dogs have come up with one of the neighbors chickens. So, the dogs can't get to the chickens, and when we take the dead carcass from the dog, it looks as though something has eaten the chicked from top to bottom (or vice versa) straight through the inside. Gutted, but not chewed up outside.. Feathers wet from our dog carrying it, but not mutilated, just gutted.

I am wondering if something is getting them, from the neighbors yard and maybe going up the tree to eat. Then when done, it falls into our yard where our dogs find it.

Possible? We have walked the fence and not found anywhere our dogs can get there. If a chicken flew over the fence into our yard and our dogs got it I would expect it to be torn up from the outside in. Our dogs pay little attention to our chickens, and in fact I can take them into the coop with me. (They are Australian shepherds and have been told to "leave the babies alone!")

Any ideas?
Thanks,
Anne

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

possum?

 

[sred98]

Sorry to say, it sounds like your dogs. More likely, if your dogs can't get through the fence, then their chickens are coming into your yard and meeting an untimely end. I don't have any advice for you. My dogs don't kill chickens. They wouldn't be here if they did. The neighbors around me don't have any chicken killers anymore.

Dogs will eat the insides, even if they don't eat anything else. Neighbor's dog got my 40 pound turkey hen and ate her insides while she was still alive. Usually dogs come in and just shake and destroy. If they only get one or two, then they will chew their insides. They're your dogs, in your yard. If they are getting into the neighbor's yard and bringing them over, then there is a problem. Otherwise, your neighbor's are idiots. I have the same ones living next door to me! LOL!

Shelly

 

[woodmort]

Dogs are pretty good at know who is "ours" and whose "theirs". My neighbor had a dog that would never bother their chickens or turkeys but one day, while visiting a friend, as soon as the car door was opened the dog lit into their chickens. I've seen the same thing with dogs and cats, the dog would ignore the home cats but chase any stray that came onto the property.