What/who killed my cockerel? ***warning graphic pictures***

[centrarchid]

I have games and they do not cause damage like that.

Look that cover over carefully. You said a storm went through. My only covered run got ripped off yesterday by 50+ mph winds.

 

[aoxa]

I have games and they do not cause damage like that.

Look that cover over carefully. You said a storm went through. My only covered run got ripped off yesterday by 50+ mph winds.

Have you guys seen this?

I'm not 100% sure Great Horned Owls are this agile (though they probably are!) but check out this Northern Goshawk flying through this TINY space.

 

[centrarchid]

Great-horned owls are more casual in their approach. They will fly as far as they can easily, then walk, and not be in any sort of a hurry. To me they look kind of "bumbly" as they get about on foot but chickens after dark do not run fast at all so no need for speed.

 

[Kyzmette]

If it was a chicken fight, there would be a lot more body damage and damage to both birds. Night puts chickens to sleep, so I really don't see the other rooster being the perpetrator here.

Raccoons, opossums, rats, weasels... all those critters can get through amazingly small spaces, openings you would never imagine they could get through. And raccoons can do things with those little hands that seem impossible. I knew of a woman who kept her coop latched, and the raccoon was unlatching it every night to get in. She was swearing she had teens performing horrible acts in her coop until she caught it on camera. If you have loose fencing the coon could be pulling it out, slipping in, then slipping back out and the fencing could pop back into place and you'd never know it was being opened.

 

[handyman42]

A Raccoon is very possible. Weasels typically kill and leave like that though. So I'd say one of those I think. Coon or Weasel.

 

[shmccarthy]

I went out and checked and there appears to be no breaks or weak spots in the fence. The gaps in the chain link is bigger than an inch so a weasel seems likely. I will check again in the morning when it's light out. We're without power until Saturday (according to consumers energy). I separated the silkie from the rest just in case. I also put the body of the dead cockerel in a live trap near the coop and maybe the perpetrator will come back and I'll get lucky. I didn't think the silkie could do that much damage especially being bantam sized. He doesn't even have spurs.. The blood on him was suspicious but upon further inspection he has a cut on one of his wattles.

 

[centrarchid]

Wounding on silkie is not consistent with fighting (I know a little about that). To have wounding like observed on dead bird would require cannibalism which I doubt looking at your birds. Weasel then more likely. With similar unknown perpetrators I have resorted to using baby monitor to determine when bad guys visits. If weasel, then trapping method with not be same as for most other predators..

 

[aoxa]

Great-horned owls are more casual in their approach. They will fly as far as they can easily, then walk, and not be in any sort of a hurry. To me they look kind of "bumbly" as they get about on foot but chickens after dark do not run fast at all so no need for speed.

That's good to know.

I need to continue thanking my lucky stars our predator situation is so mild.

I've never once seen an owl, but I've seen plenty of hawks and Eagles nearby.

 

[Rocky Rhodes]

I have lost chickens that looked a lot like this. I couldn't figure it out at first, then I set a live catch trap and caught a coon. I kept it set every night and caught several coons. The coons would harass the chickens until one would get too close to the wire and the coon would simply reach in and grab the chicken,pull it to the fence and kill it. When it couldn't pull it all the way through it would just leave the carcass. Sometimes they would pull off the head, sometimes it looked more like the picture that you posted. I think the silky got bloody after a coon did the killing. You should set a live catch trap, if it was a coon, he WILL be back!

 

[centrarchid]

Raccoon attacks my birds suffered had a lot more slobber on feathers, more wounding to body and chewing was not so localized.