What is this predator?

[dsnewark]

It is 3 am and for the third night I have gone to the coop because my dogs have gone nuts. The first night I found an adult hen dead in the coop. I left it there until morning. In the morning it had been draged out of the coop, but still in the barn and eaten on.

I left in again and set a cage trap, the next night it had been moved again, further from the coop, but still in the barn, and eaten on some more. No new victims. All that was left were the wings and some scraps. I left it again and rebaited the trap.

Tonight the wings and scraps were gone and no other chickes were touched.

What is this?

Went in under the coop.
Comes back night after night and eats on the same bird. Cleans it to the bone.
Eats a dead chicken and ignors a cage trap baited with meat scraps

Does not seem like typical coon behavior. Is this how a fox operates? Never had one before, but I would have thought it would drag it off and not eat it inside the barn.

Need advice and a nights sleep.

Dave

 

[dchickenman]

My guess would be skunk or possum. The thing to do would have been to bait the cage with the remains of the kill itself. You say the rest of the bird is gone? Try baiting with raw chicken scraps- throw a handful of feathers in the cage for "eye appeal". Good luck!

 

[Camelot Farms]

I say possum.

Nasty things!

 

[aprophet]

where you are setting your trap dig a hole under the trap put your bait in the hole then set the trap on top of the hole stake your trap down and center the trigger of the trap over the bait. fox will generally drag the whole bird off

 

[Bizzybirdy]

Sounds like a possum....

Hope you catch it. Try putting an egg or two in the trap. They seem to love them.

 

[NarutoTn]

could be a feral cat because i found one eatting on a carcass that it killed and next morning it was bones

 

[dsnewark]

Thanks for the help. Never had a opssum kill a chicken before. Did'nt think they had it in them. Makes the most sense, thou. Crime scene is sloppy and it just keeps moving the carcus around the barn and picking the bones. Could be a cat, but I have never seen one around here. I removed the chicken tonight and reset with stinky canned dog food, my never fail coon bait. Time to see what I have been feeding.

Hoping for a full nights sleep
Dave

 

[ekemily]

It sounds like a cat to me. I've heard that wild animals like oppossums, foxes and coons take the bird off somewhere. Foxes and coons generally kill more than one. Cats usually dine where they're at. And to be coming back, night after night, without killing another fresh bird.... sounds like a scaredy cat.

I'll be interested to see what you catch

oh, and

 

[dsnewark]

Verdict is in. Opussum, guilty as charged. Reset trap will see if there is more than one.

Thanks again
Dave

 

[Lurch1]

I can definitely say its not a fox. My entire flock was toast in 3 days from a fox. They kill and play.