What's getting my birds?

[centrarchid]

Have you seen your or a wild bobcat catch, kill and pack off a chicken? I see bobcats, most often in rather urban settings, almost monthly but have yet to see one actually take a chicken and do not know how they prep catch for transport. One goes by my place occasionally but it has not to my knowledge gone after my free-ranging birds although it does go after rabbits and possibly neighbors geese which do get wittled down once in a while by someting that can pack them off.

 

[kari_dawn]

Have you seen your or a wild bobcat catch, kill and pack off a chicken? I see bobcats, most often in rather urban settings, almost monthly but have yet to see one actually take a chicken and do not know how they prep catch for transport. One goes by my place occasionally but it has not to my knowledge gone after my free-ranging birds although it does go after rabbits and possibly neighbors geese which do get wittled down once in a while by someting that can pack them off.

Yes. They don't prefer chickens, which may be why you have yet to see a bob take one, but they can and will carry one off. On days when we feed chicken to the longterms, we actually have several who will refuse it, and wait until the following day when the are offered something other than chicken

That said, I picked a chicken killer up out of a trap today

some do develop a taste for chicken, but they do not like to stick around too long after a kill. We are doing tons of research on almost every aspect of bobcat behavior and social structure. Granted this is not as large as a chicken, so you may not warrant it as a worthy comparison, but it is a vid of a bobcat carrying scavenged prey away from a game cam

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wildlife-Center-at-Crosstimbers-Ranch/359268634605

And a pic I found of a bob carrying a large kill



And a water bird about the size of a chicken. Incedentally, bobcats don't mind the water, and even seem to enjoy it on a hot day.


If you look up "bobcat with prey" on google images, the majority of them will be shots of bobcats carrying their prey, rather than eatting it. They like to eat in private and seclusion. Of course, in a captive setting, their feeding behavior will be quite altered as they cannot really leave to somewhere private. They tend to be severely food agressive in captive settings partially due to this.

 

[watchdogps]

I will see if there are enough feathers left tomorrow to take a picture. Maybe that would help.
I would never set traps (except humane traps) for an animal. I hold no ill will toward whatever is taking them, they are just doing what they do. My birds are not well protected and so I know that is a risk I am taking.
I don't know when it happened, I just noticed it today. I was gone from Saturday till late last night. I know my rooster and my duck were here Friday night. Not sure about the hen, but I think she disappeared during that time too, because her feathers are by the barn door, and I am sure I would have seen that. Although I am not entirely sure it's the hen I was thinking of. I have a barred hen missing, but the feathers look black. I dont know how many black hens I have, so I dont know if any are missing.
The birds are bantams. Not tiny bantys, I call them tweenies, but not standard size either.

 

[watchdogps]

Your Anatolian is ~beatuiful~!
Try the pinwheels. They are cheap. This bird will be back. It knows where to get a sure meal.

Thanks! The one in my avatar needs a bit of retraining. She started out great, but very..attentive..and now she's a bit too enthusiastic and is chasing. Her little sister is amazing with the poultry. She has blocked another dog from getting to a chicken that got in the dog yard, and alerts to hawks and crows are suspect too, LOL.

 

[kari_dawn]

ha tweenies. It kindof sounds like you may have lost several at once...if that's the case, I would lean more towards fox. Im pretty sure that's what did in my entire flock in one setting. from what I understand, they snatch as many as they can as quickly as they can, and then they are gone. They will probably be back though.

 

[centrarchid]

While sampling in the Big Muddy River of southern Illinois, I saw two half-grown kittens swimming a good fifty feet from shore while chasing a after floating debris. When we got up close with bow of boat only ten feet from them as they dried off on bank, we could see mother in a backyard under a childs swingset watching us even thought the kittens paid us almost no mind.

 

[WildAnimalGuy]

Where at central ohio? I run a wild animal control business .. follow the feathers , if you cant then its a bird of prey. And need help catching and giving to a bird rehabilitor to hold for awhile. There is some things to consider and may need professonal help= money.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Almost surely a hawk took your bird. A pair of hawks with young to feed will tag team a hen until there is nothing left but the wings and the connected bones. Don't forget that every predator is not above scavenging the kills of its fellow chicken killers. I have even seen a large Red Tail Hawk eating a road killed raccoon while a flock of crows waited 5 feet away on the blacktop for their turn on the coon carcass.

But after enough of your bird goes down the hawks gullet, the hawk can easily make off with its lightened kill.