What took my entire flock at once?

[darkmatter]

A dogpack will wipe them out that quick, but generally won't take all the remains. I've had foxes reduce a flock, but they will take only one at a time, coming back till the coop is empty, that can take a couple hours or several days depending on the size of the flock. ( a fox will bury a dead chicken for later, then go get another one to bury, repeat ) I haven't had a problem with coyotes, so I'm not sure what their standard behavior is, I'll defer to other byc'ers with that experience.
Raccoons might have done it if there was a large family of coons conducting the attack---they will carry off the remains leaving quite a trail of feathers in the process. (struggling fight, I guess).

 

[grammy of David]

I TURNED OUT 70 FULL GROWN GUINEAS THAT I HAD RAISED FROM CHICKS. IN LESS THAN 3 WEEKS ALL GONE, BUT 16 AND MOST WERE COOPED AT NITE.....MY BEAST WALKS ON 2 LEGS....MAN

 

[ptochsva]

Well, our neighbor called this AM to let us know our rooster had taken refuge on his deck. Sounds like he's the only one left. We do have coyotes here, I have on rare occasions heard them howling, but they are VERY shy and go silent at the slightest noise or movement. I've also never heard them before midnight. There really weren't a lot of feathers. This wasn't broad daylight, but it was far from dark - based on where they were, they weren't even thinking about roosting yet. Odd.

-P

 

[kuntrygirl]

Sounds like it could have been one of the these.

Coyote

 

[markb816]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss.

Out of curiosity, did you have a Rooster for protection?

 

[skeeter03]

We had over 8 go missing one night - we figure it was coons cause the birds were ripped from the pen and then the coyotes came and cleaned up!
We never found a trace of them just a few feathers going up the hill across the road.
we have reinforced our chicken run with welded wire. we had one of our dogs on a lead out by the coop at night on random nights havnt had a problem since.
Sorry about your chickens
IT sucks!!

 

[ivan3]

chickenman wrote: All at once? I'd suspect thieves, not predators

Do not underestimate Red Foxes. These preds (unless you are dealing with a population near the artic circle, in the Great White North of this continent) are imported, invasives - like Snakeheads and Multifloral Rose. They usually work in pairs at this time of year. If they are maintaining a den, they'll usually strip down the birds at a cache location (just as far from the grab as is safe) and carry the food back to the den (usually within a couple hundred yards of the cache). The den will usually be on a South facing hillside, at the base of a big snag, or in the bank itself. They will also setup under unused/abandoned buildings.

Unless one is dealing with an inexperienced fox, or truly wiley chooks, there is usually little or no evidence remaining. Frightened poultry will take off running and then (like Adams put it in Watership Down, they go `tharn') freeze. Foxes pick up `tharn' chooks like kids grabbing up easter eggs. They will attack at whatever time of day is favorable for a kill. As a pred. that can make a flock vanish in a short space of time, I'd have to say that only humans with net traps are as efficient at as rapid a removal from the `range'.

SLW disappearance and winter fox habit: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=31544&p=1

ed: clarity​

 

[Prodigal son]

Boy that stinks. Really sorry to read posts like yours. My money is on coyotes. Despite what some would have us believe, they are truly nasty creatures. In my younger days, I worked on a large ranch in the Sandhills area of NE. One morning during calving season, mid March, I was riding horseback through the 800 or so cows being pastured on a section (640 acres) of range. It was right at day-break and I remember the wind was in my face when I rode over a hill and came upon 2 coyotes eating the calf out of a cow who had gone off by herself into a shallow canyon to have it. I was raised around cattle and thought I couldn't be shocked or repulsed by animal behavior, but I was wrong. The cow couldn't get up due to the calf being what we called "hip-locked", meaning he was hung up on the cows pelvis bones by his hips and mama had laid so that her back was downhill. The calf was dead by then and I've no doubt that had I not chased them off (and later shot one of them) they would have kept on eating into the cow. Coyotes have no redeeming qualities in my book.

 

[rillgal]

I am so sorry! This makes me so nervous...I have 6 3 week old chickens that are going to be going out to the coop my husband built them. When I hear this stuff, I just want to keep them in the cellar forever.

 

[detali]

If your coop is built like fort knox and you lock them in every night and you have a welded wire fence for a run with the addition of chick wire on the bottom half with the top covered you should be fine.