Who killed my chickens? Dog or Coyote?

[annaBsChick]

You should check out the Predator Identifier Tool on PoultryDVM. It is pretty cool, and has helped me narrow down an unfortunate attack I had on my coop a couple months ago Not a fan of the weasel..

 

[LaurenR498]

This was most definitely a domestic dog. Coyotes do not kill that way.

 

[CrazyTalk]

This was most definitely a domestic dog. Coyotes do not kill that way.

It's most likely a domestic dog, but there isn't a mammalian predator out there that doesn't spree kill at times (especially when young are involved). Foxes will often kill a couple of birds and then drag them back to the den one at a time. All it takes is something interrupting them for a whole bunch of dead birds to be let laying around.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

It's most likely a domestic dog, but there isn't a mammalian predator out there that doesn't spree kill at times (especially when young are involved). Foxes will often kill a couple of birds and then drag them back to the den one at a time. All it takes is something interrupting them for a whole bunch of dead birds to be let laying around.

Crazy makes a good case but I don't think that either a dog, a coyote, or any other K9 did it. Dogs tend to play Old McDonald had a farm with the chickens that they kill.

With a little bit of chicken here, and a little bit of chicken over their, and every where a little fragment of chicken. Members of the weasels family however often just kill and leave the victims laying where they fell. Scientifically skunks have been removed from the weasel family, however there is still more
similarities between skunks and weasels than there are differences.

Google "Weasel family."

 

[Mahlzeit]

Sorry about your loss and congrats on the new chicks.

 

[CrazyTalk]

George - my experience with dogs has always been of the "shake and drop" variety - they're playing and get bored when the bird stops moving. My few experiences with dogs attacking chickens though have all been pets - we didn't have "outdoor" dogs where I grew up - so I can't say as to how feral, or other dogs that are expected to kill prey would work. My property is fenced, so it's not something I experience much of.

Definitely look at weasel kills - its a definite possibility.