What predator wiped out my friends flock?

[AtlantisPeeps]

My friend had 20 chickens. In 1 week, all dead. The chickens were free range on her ranch. The chickens were decapitated and not eaten. What could this be?

 

[bobbi-j]

Free range chickens on a ranch? Could be just about anything. But from the MO, I'd say owl. Were the chickens cooped at night? I had (had being the operative word here) some chickens that absolutely would not go in the coop at night. They insisted on roosting in the trees. It wasn't long before I'd go out in the morning and find their decapitated bodies on the ground under the trees - it was the work of a Great Horned Owl. I'd suggest your friend make sure any future chickens are safely tucked in at night.

 

[AtlantisPeeps]

No their chickens were not cooped at night. The chickens would stay around the barn for the most part. An owl?Really? Wow. Didn't even think about that.

 

[iwiw60]

No their chickens were not cooped at night. The chickens would stay around the barn for the most part. An owl?Really? Wow. Didn't even think about that.

It could also be a raccoon possibly. They have a habit of tearing the heads off. Your friend needs to put up a trail cam and find out just exactly what she's dealing with...horrible to lose that many chickens so quickly....it's the very reason I do not allow my girls to free-range. It's just not worth the sorrow and tears just so they can be "free" to be themselves...not!!

 

[bobbi-j]

It could also be a raccoon possibly. They have a habit of tearing the heads off. Your friend needs to put up a trail cam and find out just exactly what she's dealing with...horrible to lose that many chickens so quickly....it's the very reason I do not allow my girls to free-range. It's just not worth the sorrow and tears just so they can be "free" to be themselves...not!!

It could be a raccoon. A long time ago, my uncle had a friend with a pet raccoon. He kept it in an elevated cage, and when an unsuspecting chicken would go under the cage, the coon would pop it's head off. Why they didn't raise the cage, I don't know... Anyway, yes - it could be a coon. I wonder if that would depend on where the chickens were roosting. In a tree, my guess would be owl. I know - raccoons climb trees, but I would think it would do more damage to the bird if it had access to the whole thing.