What killed my two roosters?

[Noellereagan]

One

day after the other. Broad daylight. The picture has the feather pattern that was left along with more detail written on it. No part of the rooster aside from feathers. Heard nothing from in the house.
I’m heartbroken. I need to know what I’m aiming for when I hunt and kill the SOB tonight.

 

[Noellereagan]

 

[Magicalflowers]

OneView attachment 1532615 day after the other. Broad daylight. The picture has the feather pattern that was left along with more detail written on it. No part of the rooster aside from feathers. Heard nothing from in the house.
I’m heartbroken. I need to know what I’m aiming for when I hunt and kill the SOB tonight.

I’m sooo sad to hear that! I have no idea what could’ve gotten them, aside from a hawk or a fox! I had one of my chickens took away by a fox and it left a ton of feathers

 

[Trish1974]

I would guess fox or coyote. I am so sorry!

 

[The Phantom]

I'm soooo sorry!
I'm guessing a fox or hawk.

 

[EclecticLadyy]

So sorry to hear it. It is so upsetting when predators attack our chickens. Your roosters died a noble death protecting your hens. It is extremely unlikely that a hawk is responsible. Hawks will kill and - usually starting with the fatty neck - they eat until full, then fly away and leave the rest of the carcass. They usually do not have the strength to carry away a full grown rooster. Hawks usually always hunt alone and kill one chicken at a time.

I know many will disagree about this.. So let me rephrase: IN MY EXPERIENCE I have never seen a hawk carry away an adult big rooster or even hen.

Hawks will return over and over however to kill again unless you can keep them away. But they typically kill one bird at a time. It is a Federal offense to harm or trap them. Believe it or not, it is against the law to even possess raptor feathers. See US Fish & Wildlife gov website for more info.

FOR A REALLY GOOD REFERENCE ON PREDATOR IDENTIFICATION: https://articles.extension.org/pages/71204/predator-management-for-small-and-backyard-poultry-flocks

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

View attachment 1532618

I’m so sorry! We were devastated not too long ago when our favorite hen was taken. I believed from feathers, scat, and tracks, that we had a coyote. I looked up feather shear and plucking patterns of different predators when we lost that hen in the daytime a month ago. The one large feather that I see in your picture looks sharply sheared, as from the carnassial teeth of a canine. As I understand it, foxes and coyotes pull some feathers and sharply shear others. What pattern to the feather shafts do you see? Look in the neighboring area for paw prints and scat also for clues.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Coyote

 

[LoveMyChickenBabies]

My guess is racoon coyote or fox

 

[annaBsChick]

You might try using poultryDVM's poultry predator identifier tool