What predator does this?...

[shelleyb1969]

What's the general signs of a fox attack? The bird couldn't be pulled through the fence and carried off to be eaten...so what would a fox do? Or a possum?

 

[Melinda35]

What about a skunk? I have heard that they will drink the blood and leave the rest. A racoon will grab them and try to pull the chicken through the wire. Not sure about a opossum. May be try setting up a trap in your garden if you think it is a predator other than a hawk. You might be surprised at what you find.

 

[dsqard]

If I might suggest one more possible predator. One of my chickens wound up getting into the fenced area where I keep my dogs the other day. Unfortunately, she did not get back out before they caught her. When I discovered her remains, the way that you describe your bird is exactly what I found on mine. The neck was stripped of feathers and skin, her chest was open and I could see her crop but it had not been chewed on and her head was fully feathered and still attached. The dogs that I have are on the small side, probably the same size as a fox, so my guess would be a small dog or fox.

 

[cgmccary]

A skunk usually leaves a scent. The hawk attacks I have seen, they ate the all breast meat, the neck & left the head. A fox takes the whole bird.

A mink is a type of "weasel." Other than minks, you have other types of weasels in Michigan, several. A mink or other weasel would have killed more than one and would not have passed up the chance on the others. My guess based on your report is: opossum or coon. They can be really sneaky.

 

[Hollywood Chickens]

some hawks do hide in vegetation to catch prey.

maybe a picture of the place that it was hiding in would help? idk, I have only dealt with cats and now a huge opossum is lurking about.

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
A coyote will not usually go through thick stuff like this either grey fox coon and possum have no problem with it though

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

I'm not sure what predator it could be. But to clear things up, cooper's hawks are known to have surprising agility and like to live in the most dense of forests. Most hawks will hunt on foot if they have to, but coopers are even more likely. They are known to hide near bird feeders and walk/fly out and snatch whatever bird gets too close. These will only hunt birds, and cooper's hawks love chickens.

 

[shelleyb1969]

I set a live trap last night...but haven't seen or trapped anything yet. But I'm patient.

As for coons...I have an "old timer's" guide to garden planting and it suggests that coons won't travel through vines. The book says that if you plant melon plants on the outskirts of your corn, the coons will leave your corn alone. Not sure if it works, but if that's the case, a coon sure wouldn't venture into my garden...just too much work for him I would think.

We do have Kessler falcons around. I lost a bantam to one 2 years ago...that was my last attack. I could see it having enough room to maneuver in the garden. However, whatever it was left feathers at the entrance to the garden. So I'm not sure if a hawk or falcon would casually land at the entrance and waltz through the "gate"...instead of coming in from the sky?

 

[arherp]

A mink or weasel will chew on the neck some, but they will often mess with the head aswell.

I did raptor rescuing a while back, and you would seriously be surprise how agile and fast a bird of prey is on the ground. They can go through brush just as well as a chicken. They can jump several feet in the air. I had one one time that simply had a broken wing, nothing else the matter. It took all of thirty minutes to catch the thing. They are agile, and they are FAST!

 

[deerman]

well not a coon,possum,or skunk. Seen that with mink, owls and hawks. Bird of prey go for the neck area to make the kill, rare they take the head. So my bet hawk if little early would say owl.