What predator ripped through the chicken wire?

[michaeldaugherty]

You need to invest in a live trap. I bot one big a nuf to hold a dog an keep it set all the time. I cot every thing in it i didnt no ther was so manny varmits.
It has a cage on the back for a chicken to ler thim in. Hens are hi an the time an money in feed.....I HOPE YOU GET WAT EVER IT WAS.....GOOD LUCK

 

[thenewbckyrdchicknfrmer]

im sorry about your friends loss

im not sure what could have done it, but in the pic. it looks like theres some hair left behind on the left side of the hole. if you could get that and take a few pics it would be a great help for identifying the critter

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Okay......ya'll just talked me into setting a trap. For the most part I feel safe with my coop. Nothing has gotten in thus far. It is the best coop I ever saw, in fact, but that hole could be in mine. Probably the only reason it isn't, is because the preditors have easier prey elsewhere, but they can run out and I think its time for stewed coon soon. I'm going hunt up a frozen fish skeleton I have and thaw it out now.
But I think if it was a coon that did that, it must have had a tag team thing going, because 9 hens???????? Thats a lot of eating, even for a full grown human. I would set a trap even though all the chickens are gone...and not as live one either. Time to pay the piper.

 

[kota1369]

Could be a number of things........ human, raccoon, bobcat, cougar, dog or black bear. I hope your friend invests in welded wire as a house cat can get into chicken wire. I am sorry for their loss.

The lady with 4 dogs and 4 city chickens

 

[PineappleMama]

Is it just me, being a goob, or does anyone else thing that a dog would have done more damage?

Some digging... oh, that's not working... so maybe try a couple spots for weakness... nothing... THEN try to rip?
And... for that hole... well it looks like it was pulled open... if a person did it then cut open a slit, then pull apart with two hands.
For a dog to do it they'd have to GNAW through that (hence trying digging first) then pull one side, then the other back and forth until big enough.

Leastways, I figure that's how a dog would do it... and I doubt it would be that 'pretty' of a hole after all that... so I don't think dog.

I don't know much about coons, cats, etc so I can't say anything there... but I just don't see a dog doing that without human help.

I agree with the others about the trap. If it's anything other than human it should get caught.

 

[smarsh]

I didn't read all the post. I don't know what kind of racoons you all have been used to, but I have never seen one kill more than one chicken at a time. the only animals I have seen do this are mink and domestic dog. I say dog or human.

 

[katy68]

maybe it wuz da chupicabra.... da creature that sucks aminal's blood......my frind has goats and chickens and last week, half were gone or dead. the wierd thing bout that tho is that the day before, my other friend was driving down the road and some sort of THING just came and hit her car.... idk tho.... it seems a bit impossible....

but i think ur problem is coyote or a bunch of coyotes

 

[lilshadow]

I'm thinking coon, that happened to me last year. Ripped a hole right through my coop. I know this because I saw him do it, he is now dead. I have had a coon take out more than one chicken at a time too, especially if they bring friends with them. Lost over 40 birds last year. Camped out on top of my coop, and caught six coming in.

 

[silkiechicken]

What kind of hair is that left on the corners of the wire into the coop?

The hole looks way too big for a coon. A coon would make a hole just big enough to get in (why waste energy if you can get in already) and usually would drag it's catch somewhere "safe" to stash and eat.

 

[mkwags]

Wow, sorry for the loss. I had no idea that chicken wire was not the best. That's what I have around my coop! Thanks for the education.