What predator

[ArtJuice]

What would leave a chicken mostly untouched with intestine pulled out, and a supposedly unformed egg eaten right beside it? 1 dead (hen) 2 missing (rooster and hen). Roo's feathers are nearby so I suppose he fought the predator to defend the other two hens. No sign of the other hen.

I posted to Facebook and someone responded with opossum.

 

[WingItRanch]

Could be a lot of things. With the 2 birds missing, do you think they're hiding or were they taken? If something took them, I'd say larger predator like a fox.

What general area do you live? I'm guessing the US since you said opossum.

 

[ArtJuice]

Could be a lot of things. With the 2 birds missing, do you think they're hiding or were they taken? If something took them, I'd say larger predator like a fox.

What general area do you live? I'm guessing the US since you said opossum.

Yes, I live in the US. Mid-south region. I think that they could be taken, but I would hope they are just hiding. I couldn't hear them at all when I tried to look deeper into our yard (1.5 acres of somewhat untamed but fenced-in wilderness). I couldn't investigate where the Roo's feathers were leading to, but they were definitely nearby the dead hen. I suppose the other hen was taken or hiding, I don't see her feathers anywhere.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Could be a lot of things. With the 2 birds missing, do you think they're hiding or were they taken? If something took them, I'd say larger predator like a fox.

What general area do you live? I'm guessing the US since you said opossum.

I agree... I can't imagine an opossum causing that much damage.

@ArtJuice do you have a camera you can set up? And traps? I would definitely put any survivors on full lockdown until you figure out what's coming in as it will return.

 

[ArtJuice]

I agree... I can't imagine an opossum causing that much damage.

@ArtJuice do you have a camera you can set up? And traps? I would definitely put any survivors on full lockdown until you figure out what's coming in as it will return.

We have a ring camera but it's set to our porch. I wouldn't know the first thing about traps. My guess is that an opening had been made because chicken wire was disconnected from the coop, so I think that's where the predator got in, OR the chickens squeezed their way out and then they were free meat. We used screws to shut the wire back up today.

Another odd detail, the dead chicken's comb was still red which made me think that what happened was fairly recent. I had checked them at 3:30 PM today.

 

[ArtJuice]

Update: earlier I had asked Mom if I could go bury her, mom advised against it.
Sure enough, I come home from going out to eat, and her body is gone.

At least it took four years before the predators realized there's a free food source.

 

[Finchbreeder]

Sounds a bit like a large feral cat. They like to eat eggs and guts.

 

[WingItRanch]

Unfortunately it will probably be back. Chicken wire is meant to keep chickens in, not keep predators out. If you have survivors, consider reinforcing with hardware cloth instead of chicken wire.

 

[ArtJuice]

One left a trail of feathers. TWO CHICKENS LEFT BECAUSE THE PREDATOR GOT IN FROM THE OTHER SIDE AND TOOK ONE. Made extra sure to screw those openings back in. I'm extremely aggravated