What predator only decapitates, doesn't eat

[pasuit]

I believe you have a skunk. I know they only eats the head. Hope this helps.

 

[aart]

Well, it was a fox. I saw him in my front yard in broad daylight within 20 feet of my chickens!

Fox would have taken the whole body if it could. Electric fencing or shoot it or both.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Well, it was a fox. I saw him in my front yard in broad daylight within 20 feet of my chickens!

I doubt it was a fox. A fox grabs the whole bird and runs off with it.

I would invest in a HaveAHart trap. If you can stomach it, you bait with the body of the dead chicken. If you can't then use some hamburger. You may catch a neighborhood cat or small dog, first, but if you think carefully about where a predator would slink into your hen house and put your trap along that path near some cover with the door to the trap facing toward where the predator will be coming from--not facing the hen house--then you may catch something interesting. That's how we caught our first weasel. We had no idea we even had weasels here.

That being said, if you catch it, the responsible thing is to kill it. Never release a raccoon far away from your house--raccoon are very smart, and will never go into a trap again. So if you release the animal somewhere else, you've just given someone else an untrappable raccoon with a taste for chicken. That's just not an ethical thing to do. Weasels also will learn to avoid traps. If you can't kill the animal yourself, call a critter control company or your local wildlife officer and see if they will take care of the animal for you.

 

[ShakeragSusan]

I assume the fox was stopped from taking the whole guinea initially probably by my mom and dad's pit bull/ weimeraner mix. She roams everywhere on their and my property.

Electric fencing is pretty impractical. My birds have been free ranging since they were big enough. There really is no point in guineas penned up since I bought them (and the chickens) for tick control.

I do need to check into the local regs about shooting foxes after livestock. I'd hate to shoot it, but I can manage.

Since the fox was clearly afraid of me, I have been having my husband pee around the front yard. Don't know if it will help, but it is free pee, so to speak.

I'll try wolf pee, too.

Until I am more sure of the fox not coming back, I will keep my birds penned, but I don't see that as a long term solution.

Thanks for the input, everyone. If anyone has any miracle cures for fox problems, I'm all ears.

 

[grandpaw roo]

Canines (Dog,yotes,fox) kill,run off,and stash/burry it for laterPossem,skunk,weasel,rat,etc eat what they can and return later..Don't waste your money on pee.Your chickens are still giving off smell and that will rule over all.It found food.It will return and if you want to keep your birds you gotta get rid of it.

 

[ShakeragSusan]

Thanks, grandpaw. It makes sense, but I was really wishing for an easier solution.

 

[Queen Bee]

I just spoke to our wild life resource officer (been doing this for 32yrs). He told me, that a cat will eat the head off the poultry and leave the entire body.. He stated "I have a grainy video of this happening in a coop-- the cat did it to 5 full grown chickens. First killing and then chewing the head off". He also said that a bird of prey will do the same thing..

 

[grandpaw roo]

Cats like to kill,just for the fun of it.

 

[PeterNaomiGray]

I've also heard that decapitation is a strong indicator of weasels, and that they can get in through quite small holes. Luckily we've been spared a weasel attack, and they don't seem to be in our immediate area, but I did try to plug all the 1" gaps. However, the upper parts of our coop are 2x4" mesh. Does anyone know whether weasels can climb fences or chicken wire?

 

[smittyG]

Weasles can fit through anything its head fits thru. They can also climb. I doubt it was a hawk or owl since you lock them up! Owl go for the soft parts of the chicken such as stomach area as do hawks! As someone mentioned a fox will just take the whole body...You can try buying a preditor owl figure and perch it up, but killing it is your true recourse. Good luck!