What Predator leaves ONLY the head?

clarkel

Hatching
Feb 22, 2015
2
0
7
In the last couple of weeks we have lost two chickens to an unknown predator. These instances have happened overnight, about a week apart, while the chickens are shut in the coop that is surrounded by an 8 foot chain link fence. All we found in the morning was the head and a few scattered feathers. There are 12 month and 10 week old chickens together in the coop. We introduced the younger ones at 8 weeks and both of the fatalities have been those younger chickens.
We have read everything we can find on predators and this doesn't seem to match the mark of any common predator.
Any ideas?
 
My neighbor has a huge flock of chickens and says that hawks and other birds of prey leave the heads of birds, though that doesn't seem to be likely for you. I know that raccoons often eat only the heads. Can you find a way where the predator is getting in?
 
That could be a real possibility. The fenced in area of the coop is not covered, so a hawk or owl could get in. We have wondered about that.
Thank you!
 
Many raptors, especially owls consume heads first. Red Fox on the other hand will sometimes decapitate to kill, discarding head to pack off carcass quietly. When I have seen such the fox had trouble controlling the bird and could not kill it quickly by bites to the body. Head removed then fox not betrayed by victim giving alarm call. Chickens so treated are large. In my situation when fox tries to run off with a squawling chicken, the dogs can locate and catch fox very rapidly often resulting the the retrieval of the chicken alive. Fox does not want to attract attention of other larger wild predators either.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom