What killed my chick?

[PowellAnimals]

I came home tonight after being away from about 2pm-7pm to find a 3 week old chick missing and a 10 week old Polish chick dead without a face by the coop. The beak was gone and the skin off the face was gone but everything else was there with no other damage. Any thoughts on what it could be?

We free range on 3 suburban acres in Central Pennsylvania. I have never seen a fox nor a coyote. We have skunks, hawks, and owls. Our dogs and cats were inside although the neighbor has dogs. I have not seen anything larger than a rodent by the coop before.

 

[PerfectPlumage]

Sorry to hear about your chicks. I would say dog, they tend to play with what they catch and sometimes won't eat it after they attack because they are fed by humans. Maybe a coyote that forgot to carry away the last prey.