What is killing my chickens?

[jarodw45]

I have a pen that is under my shop lean-to the pen is a 10' cube made with chain link dog kennels. like i said it is under my lean-to so at the front the roof of the lean-to the pen touches then at the back closest to the barn the roof is about 4 foot from the pen. Two days in a row if have found a chicken ripped to shredds on top of the pen 10 foot up under the lean-to roof. I had a few chickens roosting up there (anconas) and one of them was the first victim but then the following day a silver pinceled rock was murdered up there and i have never seen one of the rocks get up there which leads me to believe that she was carried up there. My thinking is that the culpret is an owl what do yall think? What else could kill a chicken and then be able to (or would) carry it up ontop of the pen 10 foot up to eat it? These are about 4 months old so not full on heavy yet. Also i keep them locked in the coop at night except for the ones that had been roosting on top of the pen but then the second night i put them all up but must have missed the one SPR unless this happened during the day when i was at work. What are your thoughts on this?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

raccoons, possums and weasels can climb almost anything.
I vote raccoon.

 

[Ridgerunner]

A possum, skunk, or weasel will usually eat them where they kill them and don’t usually rip them to shreds. Not all predators in a species does exactly the same thing, but most of those just eat specific body parts, head, start from the vent, whatever.

A fox can climb that fenced no problem. Just Google “fox climbing fence” and watch some of those videos. But the fox would more likely carry it well away to eat it, just leaving feathers.

An owl usually eats only the head and neck, not rip it to shreds. Usually. They don’t all do exactly the same thing.

I agree with ‘Canoe. Sure sounds like what a raccoon would do to me.

 

[jarodw45]

My first thought was "coon" as well but in my experience they kill more than just one and never eat the whole thing. I say ripped to shreds but what i mean is that most all was eaten only leaving the wings and legs with a little bit of the back as well. I know that they can climb and foxes as well my problem is i cannot see either of these carrying a caracas up there just to eat it. whatever this was took the SPR up there and it was in the exact same spot as the other that was eaten the night before. The first night this happenend i had left the coop door open and i feel like a coon would have gone inside and went to town on everyone in the coop. Its still a mystery. I was going to set my game cam last night but it came a downpour and i wasnt able to. I will set it tonight to see if i find anything lurking but i will make sure they are locked in securely everynight from now on. But like i said earlier the second could have happened during the day becacuse i didnt notice that morning because it was still dark when i opened the coop up. But i know that if it happened during the daylight that rules out the owl too most likely. Thanks for you guy's responses.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

weasels yes, but I've never had a coon take more than one at a time.

 

[Ridgerunner]

They don’t all act the same. I’ve never had a fox take more than one at a time, but some people have had a bunch wiped out by a fox in one go.

A single raccoon is not likely to eat the whole thing, but envision a Mama raccoon with her hungry babies out for a hunting lesson.

From the first post, I thought it was one at a time, just on consecutive nights. Was I wrong?

I had another thought, maybe a bobcat. They usually drag the remaining carcass off and bury it for later, but maybe this one didn’t read the bobcat instruction manual.

We can only guess. There are several things it could have been, but to me it doesn’t fit anything perfectly. I’m sticking with raccoon until we see what your game cam gets, but I’ll admit I’m a bit prejudiced. I caught another raccoon last night. The trap was right next to the coop.

 

[jarodw45]

Quote:
You are correct it was one per night just eaten in the same high spot. I keep a trap set with eggs in it outside the coop at all times as well on the field side where the chickens never go. I have caught several skunks but never a coon. We have had coyotes killing birds before even getting my guineas and caught it on the game camera. One time last year i got a picture of a coon in the background of a coyote they were in the cotton field but it had thigh-high cotton for them to hide in. Right now the cotton fields have just recently been planted and the cotton is very small so this is wide open area with no cover for the critters. I will set my camera up tonight and see if anything comes. I can fix the problem of things getting them at night by shutting them up in the coop especially now that the birds that were roosting high dont do it anymore since the one got eaten. I cannot however fix immediately the day time preditors because the chicken yard is 60 foot x 60foot devided right down the middle. i have purchased wire netting to cover the top of one half of it 30x60 and i will likely do that this weekend then i wont have to worry about arial attacks during the day while im working. When/if i ever figure it out i will let you all know what i find.

 

[jarodw45]

Game camera set. The was a silly silver spangled Hamburg roosting up there but I made her get in the coop. We shall see if the predator returns tonight.

 

[jarodw45]

So I did put out the game camera and got a10 second video of the perpetrator but couldn't make out what it was but I'm leaning towards coon! It was on top of the 5 foot fence doing some acrobatic moves ha ha. He got no birds because they were all in the coop secure! No pics last night but something unbated my trap so trying again tonight.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don’t know if you can see it here, but I made a shell with top, sides, and a back to fit over the trap so the only way in is through the open front door. It stops them from unbaiting it without walking in. Just a thought.