alexroussos
In the Brooder
- Jul 4, 2016
- 10
- 0
- 12
I discovered the remains of two chickens yesterday. Here are the facts (and some photos, sorry they're a bit grisly).
- 2 chickens (out of 6) were killed on the same night (I discovered them 2 days later so it could've been one each night, but mother-in-law later said she hear "animal fighting sounds" on one night so I'm assuming it all took place then)
- The chickens sleep up in the rafters of the coop so I believe whatever attacked them was able to climb and get them out of the rafters
- Only wings and feet were left in the yard, no heads, neck or chest. Something picked the wings/feet clean on site and then ran off with the remainder of the carcass. Bones were broken in half (see photos)
- I found several paw prints on one of the windows (see photos). The windows tilt inwards at about a 45 degree angle forming a sort of ramp once you climb the cedar shakes on the exterior. I can only see 4 toes on any of the prints and no claw marks. They are small, maybe 1" across. The way the toes are almost in line with one another to me suggests something cat-like, whereas dogs and foxes tend to have the outer toes set back more (based on a little googling, not any actual expertise).
- I live in Bedford NY. We're abutting a wildlife preserve so it wouldn't surprise me if there were a lot of wild animals in there but I haven't heard of there being any large cats.
After typing this out, I'm starting to lean less towards raccoon/opossum and more toward a cat... What do you guys think?
- 2 chickens (out of 6) were killed on the same night (I discovered them 2 days later so it could've been one each night, but mother-in-law later said she hear "animal fighting sounds" on one night so I'm assuming it all took place then)
- The chickens sleep up in the rafters of the coop so I believe whatever attacked them was able to climb and get them out of the rafters
- Only wings and feet were left in the yard, no heads, neck or chest. Something picked the wings/feet clean on site and then ran off with the remainder of the carcass. Bones were broken in half (see photos)
- I found several paw prints on one of the windows (see photos). The windows tilt inwards at about a 45 degree angle forming a sort of ramp once you climb the cedar shakes on the exterior. I can only see 4 toes on any of the prints and no claw marks. They are small, maybe 1" across. The way the toes are almost in line with one another to me suggests something cat-like, whereas dogs and foxes tend to have the outer toes set back more (based on a little googling, not any actual expertise).
- I live in Bedford NY. We're abutting a wildlife preserve so it wouldn't surprise me if there were a lot of wild animals in there but I haven't heard of there being any large cats.
After typing this out, I'm starting to lean less towards raccoon/opossum and more toward a cat... What do you guys think?