What could kill and eat 30 chickens in 1 night and not leave a single body.

[EggWalrus]

Something killed and ate, or killed and carried off 30 birds last week. 2-3 month old leghorns. I'm thinking a family of Coyotes or Bobcats. No bodies, just 2 small piles of feathers and a piece of skat at one pile. Any help identifying what kind of skat this is would help. We have Coons around also but could a few eat that many birds in one sitting or keep coming back and carrying them off 1by1?

 

[007Sean]

I had 3 coons get my juvenile pheasants one night. Ripped the 1/2" hardware cloth loose enough to get in and kill 20, ripped both wings off another that survived the raid, had to dispatch it. They ate everything feet, legs,
even the feathers. I set traps and caught all 3 the next night when they continued their raiding.
The scat looks like coyote to me but then again could be coon.

 

[EggWalrus]

I had 3 coons get my juvenile pheasants one night. Ripped the 1/2" hardware cloth loose enough to get in and kill 20, ripped both wings off another that survived the raid, had to dispatch it. They ate everything feet, legs,
even the feathers. I set traps and caught all 3 the next night when they continued their raiding.
The scat looks like coyote to me but then again could be coon.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

It's a good idea to take scat photos with a tape measure. I did that when I found bear scat and realized how helpful that can be when photographing scat I can't quite identify and want others to examine.

It depends on the size and time of year. If I were to see that here in Northern California, I'd guess coyote or cougar. It's hard to tell because of how similar they tend to look.

I'm so sorry you suffered such a large loss. That's a devastating experience.

ETA: I meant to ask, where are you located?

 

[Sunshine Flock]

One more thought: How did the predator access your flock? While they were in the run or at night in the coop? Do you have visible damage? I would photograph any evidence of the access and exit points, damage done, tracks and anything else you see that doesn't belong there.

It's often a mystery, but lots of folks would welcome the opportunity to help you narrow down the possibilities.

 

[EggWalrus]

It's a good idea to take scat photos with a tape measure. I did that when I found bear scat and realized how helpful that can be when photographing scat I can't quite identify and want others to examine.

It depends on the size and time of year. If I were to see that here in Northern California, I'd guess coyote or cougar. It's hard to tell because of how similar they tend to look.

I'm so sorry you suffered such a large loss. That's a devastating experience.

ETA: I meant to ask, where are you located?

Thanks for the reply. I'm located on the Choctawhatchee River in south east AL. It was in the mid teens, I was freezing and didn't feel like going to get a tape measure, but I should have. Our at least put something down for reference.

 

[EggWalrus]

One more thought: How did the predator access your flock? While they were in the run or at night in the coop? Do you have visible damage? I would photograph any evidence of the access and exit points, damage done, tracks and anything else you see that doesn't belong there.

It's often a mystery, but lots of folks would welcome the opportunity to help you narrow down the possibilities.

The night of the Massacre, the old lady got them fed and put to bed, but she forgot to close and lock the door to the coop. So no signs of damage, the killers went thru the open door. Only 2 little piles of feathers, and hardly any blood in the coop.

 

[EggWalrus]

One more thought: How did the predator access your flock? While they were in the run or at night in the coop? Do you have visible damage? I would photograph any evidence of the access and exit points, damage done, tracks and anything else you see that doesn't belong there.

It's often a mystery, but lots of folks would welcome the opportunity to help you narrow down the possibilities.

The ground was frozen solid and I couldn't find any tracks, not even chicken tracks, just the skat and feathers. I have seen bobcats here but not in over a year, but about a month ago, I saw a coon that probably weighed 35-40lbs run across the yard. Also, several times a week for the last 2 months, I've heard coyotes howling just down by the river. My neighbor about 2 miles up river takes his dogs coon hunting several nights a week. I wonder if those dogs have driven them down here to my land?

 

[Howard E]

That is a lot of birds to lose in one night to anything but a weasel. Yours may be the record. Normally, with that many birds gone missing in one night, with no remains left anywhere, theft by humans is a possibility. That it happened the one night when the door was left open, however, makes human theft less likely.

What may have happened is word spread the buffet was open and everyone joined in. Coyotes, coons, foxes and who knows how many others? The curious thing being ALL 30 birds missing. There are only a handful of predators who will kill a lot of birds.....weasels, dogs, coons and as we discovered recently, bobcats. But most of those leave bodies or parts of bodies laying around. That many birds and all gone in one night doesn't even sound possible.

Mystery indeed.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

What seems to be in that scat? Is that vegetative matter?