what kind of track is this

[sealer39]

Possum is my guess.

 

[PirateGirl]

It looks like those prints actually have 5 toes, which rules out a lot of things.

 

[roosterhavoc]

The tracks aren’t that good to go off of. The fact that there was a pile of feathers a few hundred yds away rules out anything with five toes and especially an opossum.
The sure fire way to waste time though is to set cages for raccoons when you’re losing birds to a canine. It’s not uncommon to have foxes, skunks, raccoons and opossums all checking out a coop full of chickens.

 

[mowin]

rules out anything with five toes

How can you rule out something with 5 toes, when the one print clearly shows 5 toes?

 

[roosterhavoc]

How can you rule out something with 5 toes, when the one print clearly shows 5 toes?

Because raccoons, possums and skunks aren’t hauling a rooster a few hundred yards away. I don’t care what the track on the coop is.

 

[mowin]

A coon will most certainly haul a chicken that far. 5 toes shows it's a possibility.

Because raccoons, possums and skunks aren’t hauling a rooster a few hundred yards away. I don’t care what the track on the coop is.

I've seen coons caring small turkeys. They don't bring the young ones to the kill, they bring the kill to the young ones.

 

[aart]

Because raccoons, possums and skunks aren’t hauling a rooster a few hundred yards away. I don’t care what the track on the coop is.

That was the most telling clue.

but no corpse I followed the feathers to a large pile of feathers a few 100 yards away but still no chicken. there was what seemed to be a hole in the ground very close to the feather pile

 

[roosterhavoc]

A coon will most certainly haul a chicken that far. 5 toes shows it's a possibility.

Have you ever had a raccoon haul one of your chickens a few hundred yds?
I’d bet you if that was a coon that rooster would have been laying there dead.

 

[Willowspirit]

The print appears to clearly be a raccoon. But that doesn’t mean a raccoon got your rooster through or by the open pop door.

 

[roosterhavoc]

It’s not uncommon to lose birds to a canine then set a cage and catch a raccoon. That doesn’t mean the raccoon was the culprit.