What killed the chickens?

[Cheyenne D]

A very close friend of mine (friends since kindergarten) had a small flock of golden laced Wyandottes 3 hens and one rooster all about a year old and 2 chicks about a month old (give or take). They were kept in her stable with her horses but in a very secure stall all to themselves. she has 3 dogs all of which were in their crates during the day. We looked into the stall of and found all her chickens dead, the only chicken that had any visible trauma was the rooster. His side/rear was ate but not very much, mostly looking as if it was just cut into. All the hens were dead but they looked like nothing really happened to them like they just died on the spot, not trauma or anything, one was even sitting in its usual spot but it was dead. The two chicks were just lying dead some of the feathers on one of them had been slightly plucked. In order for a predator to get in to the coop it has to be able to climb at least 4 feet of the ground and squeeze through bars with a 4 inch space in between. or climb completely over the stall which is a good 10+ feet. Any idea as to what predator got them? please help!

 

[Mitchell Farm]

Not sure, but weasels can climb well and easily fit through a 4 " gap. The best thinf to do is critter proof their coop and run. Bury the fencing a good foot below ground level and use hardware cloth if u can afford it. Some critters can get through chicken wire easily. I put a solid roof over half my run and covered the other half with chicken wire. Sorry to hear about your loss.