Help! 15 chickens killed in 3 hours, what could have done that?

[Country Girl Wannabe]

I just got a call from my sister in WVA and she said that between 9 am and noon today! They are free range and have a coop and roost in the trees around their coop but she said there are feathers of some all over the place and she just found two RIR dead in the field with a bite on them. What could have happened?

 

[carrlr]

So sorry to hear this. If all 15 are in tact, kind of like they were played with until dead, I would suspect your predator would be a dog. IMO dogs rarely eat the chickens they kill. Most other predators would either eat part of them or take them to eat somewhere else to eat. One exception would be minks, who will suck their blood until dry.

 

[redsoxs]

Judging from the time of day, if I had to bet I would say a dog. Sorry for her loss.

 

[Country Girl Wannabe]

10 were carried off with only feathers left on the ground. Two were dead in the field with bite marks on their chest. What kind of animal can kill 15 chickens in three hours. These chickens are full grown.

 

[lleighmay]

If 10 were carried off my guess would be fox- they'll cache food for later, especially if they have babies. And they frequently hunt during the day this time of year, again because of babies.

 

[theFox]

The chickens may not all be dead, some of them could be hiding.

My first pick would be dogs.

 

[Katy]

My vote would be for dogs too. They'll just keep going after them until there are none left moving to chase.

 

[ChickiKat]

so sorry for you loss.... our neighbor dog ate two of our hens last year....

 

[stubbornhill]

Around here, the fox are very hungry this time of year and have their young out. We have had them strike in the daytime, leave piles of feathers and then other times, leave the entire bird. I always assummed that maybe we startled them and they dropped the bird and ran or something. No experience with dogs getting chickens, but sounds like that could be an issue as well. Sorry for the loss.

 

[Country Girl Wannabe]

What do people do who have had a fox and her cubs attack your chickens? I let my chickens free range but am now terrified to let them out of fenced in coop. Is there any repellant that can be used to keep them out of the yard?