Wondering what killed my chicken

[EstherLovesChickens]

Whatever it was crunched through bone (so not a hawk) and it was during morning-mid day. I had a fox in my area a few weeks back, just wondering if this looks familiar to anyone, thanks

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Looks like a hawk to me. Was this bird penned or out and about? It may be a fox, but generally they take the birds away. Coyote will sometimes eat in place than take it. Raccoons often just eat the heads and crop off and leave the rest.

 

[EstherLovesChickens]

Looks like a hawk to me. Was this bird penned or out and about? It may be a fox, but generally they take the birds away. Coyote will sometimes eat in place than take it. Raccoons often just eat the heads and crop off and leave the rest.

She was free ranging, don't think coyote because I have a 6 foot fence around my property, I noticed the crop was ripped out but not eaten, head was chewed off. I don't know when it happened truly, I didn't count the hens before I locked them up so she might have been out but I don't know why she would have been. I'm also leaning tawards a raccoon doing it.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

She was free ranging, don't think coyote because I have a 6 foot fence around my property, I noticed the crop was ripped out but not eaten, head was chewed off. I don't know when it happened truly, I didn't count the hens before I locked them up so she might have been out but I don't know why she would have been. I'm also leaning tawards a raccoon doing it.

I've lost a few birds to a hawk this year and the carcasses looked similar to yours. They can't carry them off so they eat as much as they can in place.

A raccoon will probably have troubles catching a healthy bird during daylight and generally seem to take birds at night when they are vulnerable and can't fight back as much.

 

[Debnsync]

I am so sorry, and yes this looks exactly like what happened to our Girlie and other BYC folks’ chickens here. We were stunned as I had been around the yard and house, and yet just a few minutes inside the house or not something got her. We realized we could no longer free-range our little flock without one of us right beside them, meaning babysitting toddlers, and counting heads often. There are a few local Red Tail hawks and three other species, as our farm is surrounded by open land and deep woods. They are beautiful birds, but aggressive despite our presence. They are not able to lift the weight of our sweet hens so they have to leave most behind. I knew it was a different predator when Goldie disappeared before Girlie’s death, earlier last year, and I assumed we were safe as all of us were around and yet a fox more than likely got her. I now know to be on alert if someone with large noisy equipment and distraction doing work, in our case, is coming keep the chicks and roosters in the run.