What predator would kill a whole flock?

[1canadianchick]

Well, last night was a bit rough. I just got back from university, and found out that half my flock, who my family's been taking care of for me had been killed off by a predator in the evening just before it was time to lock them up for the night. Last night, after they were locked up, the predator came back, managed to open the chicken flap, kill the rest of them, and begin dragging them out of the coop. There is one lone survivor, and the poor girl is in protective custody right now, (aka house). The birds are kept in a large pen with a wire roof, and 2x4 inch wire fencing. There are a couple small gaps between the roof and wire, but apart from a small raccoon sneaking in and getting a bird a year ago, there haven't been any serious issues.

Any thoughts on what the predator might be? They didn't try to eat the birds, but they did take off the heads. Poor things, there's going to be several funerals today.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi welcome to BYC!

So sorry.

Dogs and members of the weasel family kill whole flocks.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

SO after reading, I see you say the heads are missing. That is a specific predator but I can't remember which one.

When I looked it up just now.. it said dead but not eaten with head missing is raccoon.

http://articles.extension.org/pages/71204/predator-management-for-small-and-backyard-poultry-flocks

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Good point, EggSighted, But a dog isn't going to take a head, would it?They are play and leave.
A fox wold take it away with no trace.
A hawk would be a pile of feathers, most likely a body to.
A Raccon would pull the chicken through the fence(the head)
So, I'm agreeing with EggSighted, It's eaither a Ermine, A Weasel or Mink.
My friend had a problem with Weasel's killing her flock, what she did was put some meat inside of a Hav-A-Hart trap, got it two days later and shot it.Never had a Promblem since.

 

[Kiki]

2 x 4 inch wiring is big enough for many different predators to "get in".
Can you find smaller holed hardwire cloth?

 

[1canadianchick]

Thanks for the replies! I'm pretty sure it can't be a dog as I don't think it could get into the pen, and I have a dog of my own who would go berserk if another one came. I was thinking either weasel or raccoon too; I've just never heard of anyone in the area losing so many chickens at once to a raccoon. I've set up a live trap, so hopefully it will be caught tonight if it comes back.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Thanks for the replies! I'm pretty sure it can't be a dog as I don't think it could get into the pen, and I have a dog of my own who would go berserk if another one came. I was thinking either weasel or raccoon too; I've just never heard of anyone in the area losing so many chickens at once to a raccoon. I've set up a live trap, so hopefully it will be caught tonight if it comes back.

I only mentioned dog as a whole pack killer, but no that doesn't seem the obvious choice.

Others may be using hardware cloth instead of the big stuff you're using.

Also, this is spring and lots of animals are having babies. Once they discover a location for an easy meal, they will come back until their is no more meals. I often see families of coons traveling together.

What bait did you use in your trap? Are you prepared to dispense of the raccoon or whatever you catch appropriately, which does NOT include relocation?

Again, very sorry for your loss.

 

[1canadianchick]

That's my mistake, I actually meant 2x3, not 2x4, I know that is fairly large wire compared to what many used, but I haven't had a problem so far, guess I've been lucky up until now. Once exams are over I think I'll add chicken wire around the fence as an extra precaution. I used cat food in the trap for raccoons, as that is what they seemed to go after up until now. Once the critter is caught, I'm willing to dispense of it permanently.

 

[Kiki]

That's my mistake, I actually meant 2x3, not 2x4, I know that is fairly large wire compared to what many used, but I haven't had a problem so far, guess I've been lucky up until now. Once exams are over I think I'll add chicken wire around the fence as an extra precaution. I used cat food in the trap for raccoons, as that is what they seemed to go after up until now. Once the critter is caught, I'm willing to dispense of it permanently.

Chicken wire will not keep predators out.
It will only keep chickens in.
2 x 3 is still too big.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

That's my mistake, I actually meant 2x3, not 2x4, I know that is fairly large wire compared to what many used, but I haven't had a problem so far, guess I've been lucky up until now. Once exams are over I think I'll add chicken wire around the fence as an extra precaution. I used cat food in the trap for raccoons, as that is what they seemed to go after up until now. Once the critter is caught, I'm willing to dispense of it permanently.

Yes, well in 6 years I had never lost a chicken to predators either. It's never a problem until it is.

Last week or so, I lost a 6ish week old chick, I'm guessing to aerial predators. No signs, just missing. An accepted danger of free ranging. As if going to the inlaws isn't hard enough, it happened while I was gone to their house for the day.