What killed my chickens??

[chickenlady01]

I had 7 chickens when I went to bed last night. This morning I woke up to find 5 dead and 2 missing. Of the 5 I found, 2 had theirs heads chopped/bit off. Feathers all over the yard and not any evidence of a struggle in the coop, so I think it happened when they first came out. What animal would kill all the chickens, leave them for dead without eating them, and take just a couple heads?? I am so upset.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Is the yard fenced or open? If fenced, what is it fenced with? (this will play into what could/couldn't get in)

 

[AmishThunder]

I would say it was Raccoons If you live in North America.

http://www.avianaquamiser.com/posts/What_killed_my_chicken__63__/


One of these dog-proof traps will catch raccoons and possums. Hopefully the other 2 are hiding somewhere and ok.

 

[pek]

I'm so sorry for your loss! I had a similar thing happen but over the course of a few nights. We thought it might be a fox or fisher-cat, but I am nearly positive it was a fisher-cat. Fisher-cats are awful; they don't eat much of the chicken, but they'll kill a whole flock. If you listen at night you might hear them. They sound like, and I am not making this up, crying children.

 

[iwiw60]

So very sorry for your losses. It sounds like a raccoon got them. I realize how upset you must be right now, but the more important question is how did it get in. If you could send some pics of your coop/run it would help us to help you fix your problems.

What kind of wire are you using...chicken wire? Now that you have a known predator problem if you are using chicken wire (worthless stuff) you should really be re-thinking that. Can you see where it got in? Can you see footprints at all?

 

[chickenlady01]

We do have a fenced in yard, but it's chain link fencing and there is one area that the fence is broken. Not torn apart, but there is no pole at the top so it kinda sags. And I live in an innercity neighborhood, but we do get deer, coyote, raccoons, possum, etc. Not sure if fishercats are around here (CT). We never heard any noise and I believe it happened after the chickens left the coop because there is NO evidence of any kind inside the coop. Everywhere I found the dead birds, there were tons of feathers and inside the coop there aren't a lot. I am not sure what will kill 6 chickens (the 7th is alive!) and just leave the bodies there without eating it or taking it with it. And 2 had no heads and 1 had no heart.

 

[iwiw60]

Well, sadly whatever got it (I suspect either fox or raccoon from the 'trail' it left) will be back..now that they know where 'dinner' is they will re-visit. Do you just have a coop and no run? Do they just go out from the coop into the yard free-range? Me personally, I do not allow my girls to free-range...ever. It is not worth the heartbreak of losing them because it's the "thing to do" to let them free-range...not me.

Can you post pics of your coop, etc., so we can have a better idea of what you're up against and we can maybe help you to correct problems that we might see......best of luck!