Chicken Deaths???

[OldFart]

My neighbor's and my back yard have been the victims of something???. Neighbors have had chickens for about 1 ½ yrs. Raised them from chicks. Pets to their kids. Pat (wife) walked out in back yard Saturday and noticed lots of feathers and a chicken head only. When she took the car out, she saw a chicken carcass down the road two houses. Sunday morning she again went to back yard. This time there were three chickens dead but intact (still had heads attached). Feathers everywhere! All the chicken "assassinations" were at night. The villian(sp) must have been hungry but not too hungry. What animal did this? Coyote, Fox, Coon, Dog ( or combo of these)???? The carcass' had to go thru/over two fences to get to my backyard, No holes in fences. Makes me a bit concerned about my cat!

 

[Kirk]

Coons and Possums killed several of my Chickens in the same manner.

 

[pockets]

Racoons. They got mine the same way a couple of years ago. Now ive got a hotwire around the coup with solar battery. No more problems.

 

[Popcorn]

Dead and mangled chickens without significant missing tissue is almost always a dog. Dismembered chickens where most parts are accounted for is a couple dogs. Dropped carcasses could indicate k9 of some kind maybe interrupted.
Coons and possums eat what they want at or near the kill site. Bobcats leave little sign where they catch but will pluck feathers before eating most of the time.

 

[OldFart]

Could a dog/s climb two fences?

 

[DoubleRidge]

Dead and mangled chickens without significant missing tissue is almost always a dog. Dismembered chickens where most parts are accounted for is a couple dogs. Dropped carcasses could indicate k9 of some kind maybe interrupted.
Coons and possums eat what they want at or near the kill site. Bobcats leave little sign where they catch but will pluck feathers before eating most of the time.

^^This^^....Agree.....our experience has been that wild predators leave with the chicken as a meal.....with the exception of the red tail hawk...they eat both the breast and both sides of the head off and leave the carcass....coon will pull head off reaching through the chicken wire...but that's all they can get through the wire.....but domestic dogs kill to kill...play with carcass...shake carcass....but drop it when they are done playing....how they got inside a fence or two fences is a bit strange? And I've never heard of or had any experience with a house cat messing with grown chickens?

 

[PossumSlayer]

Definitely chupacabra

 

[Omega]

Could a dog/s climb two fences?

Yes, had a Rotty that climbed the fence though he was more than capable of just jumping over. But most other animals mentioned above can do the same thing. This guy visited often, giving my dogs fits.

 

[OldFart]

Could a dog/s climb two fences?

 

[OldFart]

Fences are 6 ft tall. Found out that two chickens had head off, not just one.

 

[Deer 1]

I've had possums kill my chickens like that

 

[jlanecr500]

My lot has 6ft chainlink buried 6" with roofing tin 2ft high tied to inside of chainlink with creek rock stacked against it. Dual hot wires on the outside at 8" and 2' 6". The one thing I'm concerned about is hawks.

I recently lost 5 ducks on the creek over a 10 day period. I searched 300 yards in all directions but found nothing. No feathers. Nothing.

 

[MUP]

Fences are 6 ft tall. Found out that two chickens had head off, not just one.

We had an owl killing our chickens at one time. It would take the head off and eat the internals, leaving the rest of the body. Our first clue was a chicken body left atop a fence post.

 

[backyardtndeer]

An owl or coons would be my guess.

 

[megalomaniac]

Weasels, skunks, minks, and martens are notorious for eating the head, drinking the blood, then leaving the carcass going to the next one.

I had a skunk eat the heads off 16 in one night. Left the rest of the bird untouched.

 

[OldFart]

We have skunks here too around my house here in town.

 

[Smo]

It wasn't me…..