What killed this chicken??

[mrbreeze]

Second one that I have lost like this. First one was about two months ago. Sorry for the graphic image. All feathers gone from neck, no other marks on body. Eyes eaten out, but head still attached???? Both attacks occured during the day.

 

[centrarchid]

Hawk or even owl if out in open. Looks like luxury consumption with high fat and vitamin parts consumed. Skin is good vitamin source and neck is higher in fat. It is kind of like brown bears eating only skin and eggs of salmon catches are easy to make.

 

[mrbreeze]

Thanks. I'll look through the forums and see what options might be available. I have a tip that it could be a weasel too. What do you think?

 

[Greyfox Farm]

Were they free-ranging or in a pen or coop? If they were in a pretty tight enclosure then, I agree, a weasel is a likely guess. They can get through the TINIEST holes. If they were out-and-about that opens up more options. A trail cam will tell the tale, as the predator knows where the food is and he's therefor likely to be back. A weasel box is a cheap and easy set-up; look it up on Youtube and you'll see just how easy they are to make, and the good news is that they're species-specific to weasels and maybe rats, not a threat to neighborhood cats for instance. Sorry for you loss. Hope you get the b@#$%^d.

 

[mrbreeze]

Yeah...sorry I didn't point that out. Yes, the chickens free range in the yard during the day, so I'm the attack occurred between 9am-3pm. I looked up some weasel boxes, and will set some of those up. I just have this feeling that I have a hawk in the neighborhood.....

 

[NovaAman]

Hawk.... coopers... red tail.... Just lost a few birds in the last 2 weeks to them. Neighbor had an attack... been on lock down for nearly a week because of it. NO, it has been a week. The birds do not like it, but I hate having to pick up and bury headless birds... I know mine were hawk related cuz the chickens were in terror, and I caught the hawk both times... The one was finishing the meal, the other was halfway into it, trying to take off with the chicken.. They start with the head/neck area, work their way down...

 

[Oregon Blues]

OP, it could have been anything. Everything likes to eat chicken and if yours are out, they are an easy meal.

It was probably something small, because not much was eaten. But it could also be something large that got interrupted. Daylight doesn't help determine what it was. All predators will hunt night or day. Although it is very rare for an owl to be put during the day, but it is not totally impossible.

 

[centrarchid]

OP, it could have been anything. Everything likes to eat chicken and if yours are out, they are an easy meal.

It was probably something small, because not much was eaten. But it could also be something large that got interrupted. Daylight doesn't help determine what it was. All predators will hunt night or day. Although it is very rare for an owl to be put during the day, but it is not totally impossible.

This year is not typical, at least in the midwest. I am seeing barred owls out and about even in full sunlight during middle of day. They are not normally a threat to my birds and have not been so far but this is not a normal year for this increasingly abundant species. My last four free-ranging birds get very worked when then owls mess around even with me present. Something also odd is my dogs caught one in garage / house and are trying to get them even when the owls are just moving about in pasture. Song birds are also giving the owls hell.

 

[Huntress78]

I had a hen killed by ravens yesterday that looked just like that.

 

[effie]

Definitely a hawk!!!!! Exact copy of my hen I lost a few weks ago to a coopers hawk--it was still sitting on her when I found her. It had eaten exactly the same amount of her as your hen. Hawks seem to be an extreme nuisance this year. Hawks keep it nice and tidy like that....a weasel wouldn't. Sorry for you loss-I keep a window cracked open toward my hen house year round --they let me know when something is wrong--the hen I found with the hawk was when I left to go to town for a bit and found her when i got home by the rest of the hens screaming. I hope it doesn't come back.