What kills chickens but leaves the entire body

[BizzyB]

I had a flock of seven chickens but today I looked outside and they were all dead. I found five of the bodies and was able to bury them but I’m missing two but I don’t know what would kill the entire flock and leave most of the bodies completely intact? We’ve had a hawk recently going between my flock and my neighbors’ flock so we figure that the hawk got them but do hawks leave entire chickens behind?

 

[MountainWoman73]

Hawks are polite predators. They will take one at a time, and not kill more than they're hungry for. This sounds like a dog to me. The one time I had an animal kill 7 chickens for sport it was a neighbor's husky.

 

[Geena]

I had a flock of seven chickens but today I looked outside and they were all dead. I found five of the bodies and was able to bury them but I’m missing two but I don’t know what would kill the entire flock and leave most of the bodies completely intact? We’ve had a hawk recently going between my flock and my neighbors’ flock so we figure that the hawk got them but do hawks leave entire chickens behind?

Hawks don't generally kill more than one at a time.
It was mostly likely a fox(es). They sometimes kill as many as they can as fast as they can before hauling them away.
Make sure to look around good for the two that are missing, they may just be in hiding!

 

[MountainWoman73]

I was going to say, foxes will also kill several birds at once, but they generally haul away the bodies to stash for eating later. Maybe you just interrupted before he could come back for them all.

 

[Yardmom]

Fox will make feather piles wheather they catch the chicken or not. We have seen several fox after our chickens over the last 10 years. I honestly have never had a fox kill and not take. Did this happen during the day? Are there feathers everywhere or do they have small wounds? Can you smell the predator still? Were you home at the time?

 

[BizzyB]

It was during the day and feathers were everywhere. We found the entry way and it was pretty small plus we haven’t had foxes where I live in over 10 years but we have plenty of coyotes, opossums, skunks, and raccoons. I didn’t see any wounds on the chickens and I was home at the time. My dog was barking but she barks at pretty well everything so I didn’t react as fast as I should have.

Don’t the other animals take parts of the chickens like raccoons take off the heads or something? Plus I did have an instance a year ago of a Lab and German Shepard trying to get into my coop by pulling on the fence but I chased them off then I had a feral cat try to get in as well. I live in the country so dogs are allowed to run around and people dump their unwanted pets near by.

 

[Geena]

but we have plenty of coyotes

Probably coyote(s) then. For the most part only predators that have a hard time carrying a chicken will risk staying and eating right at the kill site.

 

[Yardmom]

I would keep an open eye for stray dogs as most wild animals would not have left the food behind.

 

[MrsNorthie]

It was during the day and feathers were everywhere. We found the entry way and it was pretty small plus we haven’t had foxes where I live in over 10 years but we have plenty of coyotes, opossums, skunks, and raccoons. I didn’t see any wounds on the chickens and I was home at the time. My dog was barking but she barks at pretty well everything so I didn’t react as fast as I should have.

Don’t the other animals take parts of the chickens like raccoons take off the heads or something? Plus I did have an instance a year ago of a Lab and German Shepard trying to get into my coop by pulling on the fence but I chased them off then I had a feral cat try to get in as well. I live in the country so dogs are allowed to run around and people dump their unwanted pets near by.

During the day, my bet would be racoons or skunk, foxes and coyotes tend to be more active at night. A camera would be your best bet at identifying the predator.

 

[BuckarooBonzai]

Same thing happened to me. Most were left behind, few were actually taken. I always kept a close eye on my girls but some of the attacks happened minutes after I walked away or w/ me & my dogs outside, always during the day. I looked at their bodies before burying- no blood visible, two SMALL puncture wounds on their backs above their shoulders. Dog-like animals I guess will grab, then shake, actually traumatizing the internal organs. Their bodies didn't look disheveled, like they were caught off guard then it was over. I have every kind of predator out here but bc of the size & distance of puncture marks, I'm guessing mink, weasel, fox. Something along those lines. I believe all 3 will create stashes w/ the bodies, weasels & minks sometimes just going on a spree & leaving the bodies, so I've read. With birds of prey, it's just one at a time and they're just poof, gone.