What predator?

[Below frigid]

Since it was not eaten, I am guessing a dog.Not many predators will leave an easy meal unless your dog ran it off. Number two is a hawk absolutely can not fly away with a 5 lb Chicken period! Even an Golden or Bald eagle. They eat their kill at the scene. Horned Owl is the only North American raptor that can carry a chicken off the ground and that is only for a hundred yards or so. I know there are some who claim to have seen Redtails Hawks carry off 5 lb plus Rhode Island Reds. Must have been a dream. There is a reason you can 't find a photo anywhere of a hawk flying with a full grown Chicken.

 

[Birdsong 82]

But honestly my best guess would be a stray cat. And I have a small cat she’s only about 8 pounds. And I’ve seen her kill a small groundhog. Bunnies and of course mice and moles. Never once has taken a bite out of any of them though. Plus if you couldn’t hear the attack that could very well indicate a stray cat to their very quiet stealth

 

[Below frigid]

Could be a cat buy looking at the wound. Was the neck chewed or bitten? Felines kill by biting onto the neck. Usually most felines eat their prey unless scared off. Cat's can carry off a chicken. Next time if the kill is fresh leave the hen and hide somewhere with appropriate predator control in hand. They usually will return in short order if scared off their kill.

 

[happyfrenchman]

I agree with Belowfrigid.... All the aforementioned suspects take chickens for one reason.... to eat them. This bird was not eaten. I would suspect your dog.

 

[Birdsong 82]

Since it was not eaten, I am guessing a dog.Not many predators will leave an easy meal unless your dog ran it off. Number two is a hawk absolutely can not fly away with a 5 lb Chicken period! Even an Golden or Bald eagle. They eat their kill at the scene. Horned Owl is the only North American raptor that can carry a chicken off the ground and that is only for a hundred yards or so. I know there are some who claim to have seen Redtails Hawks carry off 5 lb plus Rhode Island Reds. Must have been a dream. There is a reason you can 't find a photo anywhere of a hawk flying with a full grown Chicken.

Yeah what I meant is an owl or a hawk can’t completely left a chicken or really any animal more than 2 1/2 or 3 pounds and go up and completely take off with it. I know there’s reports of people flying off with their 6 pound dogsOr even those claims of them picking up ink caring away they are small child. Those make me laugh. Maybe in another country but not in America

 

[mixedbreeds]

Weasel

 

[happyfrenchman]

I am with you bf... I have shot many a hawk on the ground sitting on it's kill. (with my camera of course). They cannot lift off. A hawk would have eaten some of it and plucked it. I have seen redtails carry squirrels a short distance but otherwise, not unless you are talking Great Horned owls, not alot of carrying. Dead chicken uneaten, in mouth of dog...... I vote dog.

 

[Kessel23]

Since it was not eaten, I am guessing a dog.Not many predators will leave an easy meal unless your dog ran it off. Number two is a hawk absolutely can not fly away with a 5 lb Chicken period! Even an Golden or Bald eagle. They eat their kill at the scene. Horned Owl is the only North American raptor that can carry a chicken off the ground and that is only for a hundred yards or so. I know there are some who claim to have seen Redtails Hawks carry off 5 lb plus Rhode Island Reds. Must have been a dream. There is a reason you can 't find a photo anywhere of a hawk flying with a full grown Chicken.

Golden and bald eagles can definitely carry animals more than 5 pounds, here is a news report of a bald eagle that dropped a deer fawn onto a powerline and shut off the power. A day old fawn is on average over 5 pounds, sometimes up to 8.

Also, if you have ever watched a nest cam of bald eagles you will see them bring in large opossums quite often, a big opossum can weigh 12 pounds and a small adult is usually around 8, they also bring in cats sometimes, waterfowl, and then turtles. A bald eagle can definitely lift more than 5 pounds.
I found a video of a Golden eagle carrying a plump little goat back to her nest, this one is not very fair though because she did not have to take off with the goat from the ground, he took off from a clif.

A lot of this video is just showing the eagle pulling them from the cliff and then letting them drop to their death but at 5:04 the eagle pulls it off the cliff, holds onto it, and then ascends down with it and flies back towards the nest then goes upwards and lands. I am not sure how much that goat weighed but it is definitely more than 5 pounds. Of course this would not be possible if he was taking off from the ground but still he flew away with it.

Also, for the "raptors always eat their kill where they killed it", that is bs, parent raptors will always bring the kill back to their kids, even if it is to big to carry it will be dismembered and taken away in pieces. Also, lots of bird hunting raptors, such as the sharp shinned hawk, prefer to eat off the ground and will carry any bird they catch up into the trees to eat if it is small enough to be carried. Point is this was not a raptor. I doubt it was a dog either, no dog is going to kill a chicken by carefully nibbling on its neck, unless you have some sort of dwarf chiwawa. That hole is so small it honestly would be hard for a chiwawa to make such a precise kill, even a cat is pushing it, it was either a small cat or a weasel, not a raptor and not a dog.

 

[barn206]

I was debating putting the caucus in a trap but it may attract more predators tonight than I need. Im going to play this one by ear. I have a friend down the rd who had 30 bird and is now down to 12. He put trail cameras out. Ps it was a fox in broad daylight. I’m going to pickup some trail cameras. Tomorrow I’ll keep the birds in the screen. Hopefully get a head count tonight

 

[barn206]

Golden and bald eagles can definitely carry animals more than 5 pounds, here is a news report of a bald eagle that dropped a deer fawn onto a powerline and shut off the power. A day old fawn is on average over 5 pounds, sometimes up to 8.

Also, if you have ever watched a nest cam of bald eagles you will see them bring in large opossums quite often, a big opossum can weigh 12 pounds and a small adult is usually around 8, they also bring in cats sometimes, waterfowl, and then turtles. A bald eagle can definitely lift more than 5 pounds.
I found a video of a Golden eagle carrying a plump little goat back to her nest, this one is not very fair though because she did not have to take off with the goat from the ground, he took off from a clif.

A lot of this video is just showing the eagle pulling them from the cliff and then letting them drop to their death but at 5:04 the eagle pulls it off the cliff, holds onto it, and then ascends down with it and flies back towards the nest then goes upwards and lands. I am not sure how much that goat weighed but it is definitely more than 5 pounds. Of course this would not be possible if he was taking off from the ground but still he flew away with it.

Also, to the person who said raptors always eat their kill where they killed it, that is bs, parent raptors will always bring the kill back to their kids, even if it is to big to carry it will be dismembered and taken away in pieces. Also, lots of bird hunting raptors, such as the sharp shinned hawk, prefer to eat off the ground and will carry any bird they catch up into the trees to eat if it is small enough to be carried. Point is this was not a raptor. I doubt it was a dog either, no dog is going to kill a chicken by carefully nibbling on its neck, unless you have some sort of dwarf chiwawa. That hole is so small it honestly would be hard for a chiwawa to make such a precise kill, even a cat is pushing it, it was either a small cat or a weasel, not a raptor and not a dog.

Great videos! I’ve seen some of them before. I always worry about my poodle re eagles. My red Heeler is almost 60 lbs. I worry less about him but anything is possible I hope it’s not a weasel.