Three beheaded chlckens

EggZactly
Install a live trap so it's opening looks like a hole in the wall of the coop.
Secure the trap so it can't move (so a first visitor doesn't open a hole to the coop for others).
Visitor smells poultry, thinks it's stepping in to the coop and bam. Yesterdays news.
jim

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In our area that would be a coon. Never had a skunk kill one of our chickens.

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i had a raccoon eat just the head of one of my roos and laid down next to him to sleep

Coon or possum here. I have had this. They get them a little riled up and then the birds trying to escape try to run through the fence by sticking their heads out. That's the end.

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Jim Steele
Sweetpea Farms
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If you were in my neck of the woods, my money would be on weasels. Vicious little things for their size. Saw one take on a raccoon 10x it's size and win.

Around here I would be betting my money on a raccoon. They pull the head through the fence and chew it off.

Mary

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Yuck, poor chickens. Hope you get it soon. Had a coon out here that nearly drove us to distraction. Nothing like having five good coon hounds and have a coon nearly put you out of the chicken business. Finally found the hole he was pulling birds through and fixed that. Then one night we caught it trying to open that hole! So we led a couple of good hounds out there and let er rip. We don't know if they caught it or if it got in a hole first. However it never returned.

In my area I would look to Hawks. Our Hawks are smaller and behead the duck/chickens, because they can't carry off the bird.

I've had that issue and it was both skunks AND weasels... Sounds to me like anything from the weasel-type families (hands that can grab, and a set of cat-like teeth) will do it...

Weasle is my vote.

I was moving a bunch of young birds ----like 5 week old from one large cage to the next size cage and I went to grab one and got just a body freaked me out went to grab the rest of them and the weasel had the same idea we played tug of war but with the first tug on my part I got to see the head of the weasel he saw me let go but froze. He stayed there long enough to get shot.

Weasels, mink, skunks and owls all tear the head or down the gullet. Coons, possums, dogs, coyotes likely to tear the whole critter apart or haul it away. Sorry. Graphic.

The only thing I have ever verified doing this a skunk. It happened several times before I left home. Parents had 2 broiler houses. Back then, we opened the doors in hot weather to improve air flow. Had large screen type doors , except with chicken wire to keep the chickens in. Always when htis happened we either trapped or just waited and shot skunks. Weasels always found a way into the houses and raccoons sometimes even managed to tear small holes in the chicken wire over the windows or big doors.

What ever it is will just be replaced by another predator when you kill it. My question would be is why are chickens sleeping in a wire pen where they can be reached? Make a secure coop for them.