help chickens attacked in australia

[PsychoWorm]

hey guys,

woke up this morning and my neighbour was none too pleased with me. it seems something has gone into the neighbours yard and killed 4 chickens and blinded another in one eye. the culprit is suspected to be my large housecat at this stage. strange thing is only one body was left and it was beheaded. the other 3 carcasses are missing. my cat was outside this morning and had a 2-3 hour window of which he could of killed the birds but there is no trace of any feathers/heads/bodys anything on my property. when we found the cat he was happily sunning himself on the deck with no traces of blood on him. plus the birds are fully grown and weigh 3-4 kg each, my cat is maybe 7-8 kg. could he of killed them and cleared a metre plus high fence with the bodies in his mouth?

does this sound like a cat attack? or maybe something else like a fox? thanks guys.

 

[guinea fowl galore]

Doesn't sound like it was your cat. If it was then there would be feathers EVERYWHERE and I don't believe a cat would be able to hide three bodies. It could be possible that your cat (or something else) has eaten the head off of the dead bird without killing it.
A fox, however, will do a very good job of killing then hiding the bodies with little to no evidence. They will also take as many as they can to bury some for a winter food supply. Foxes usually hunt in the early morning between 12 and 5ish.
This really is your neighbours fault though, their chooks should be locked up safely at night. If a fox, cat or any other predator can get the chickens then they are being housed very poorly. You should suggest they get a more secure coop for the ladies if they plan to keep them alive, especially now that the predator knows where to get a feed.

 

[PsychoWorm]

thanks for the reply

actually there were quite a few feathers in the neighbours yard around where the chooks would of been killed but no trace of feathers or carcasses in my yard. when my cat got pointed at this morning i was quick to blame but there is no trace of 3 of the 4 chickens or there bodies anywhere and the head was missing from the 4th which is also missing. the cat had been fed a large amount (he eats alot) late at night (almost 1am) by my partner. he was let out this morning around dawn and my neighbour woke and found her chickens around 8:30 and thinks it was my cat because he's stalked the chickens before. we've lived here a bit over 5 months and he hadn't attacked them yet though.

im completely lost as to whats to blame

 

[nzpouter]

what other animals you got around you? We got cats here that can carry an orpington hen over deer netting....

 

[PsychoWorm]

just the usual domestic and feral dogs and cats, lots of foxes around, not sure what else is nearby. sure wasn't a snake lol. after having a sleep on it i realised its impossible for my cat to have killed 4 full grown hens and nick off with 3 carcasses. no trail of feathers or anything leading to my yard or any of our neighbours and the 3 chooks have not turned up anywhere. still doesn't matter now she managed to get me and my pets kicked out, busy packing now

can't wait till the foxes come back for the survivor, im gonna be getting all my money back im having to pay to replace the birds. it's her own stupid fault, hens loose at night, plus really inadequate protection from predators. the fence isn't buried into the ground and its only about 3-4 foot high at the front of the house plus we live less than 100 metres from the bush.

 

[Oregon Blues]

Well, it could have been your cat because you don't know where your cat was.

It sounds like you cat is big enough to kill chickens. Your cat has been seen stalking the chickens. Your cat has been on the neighbor's property where he has no right to be,

If you would like to keep the cat, take him inside your house and keep him there. Make sure you know where he is and make sure he is not on the neighbor's property. If you know exactly where your cat is at all times, then you know he could not have killed the neighbor's chickens.

Right now, you don't know. You are making excuses and rationalizing.

Take a minute to read all the posts from people who hate the neighborhood cats that wander loose, causing damage, pooping everywhere, and killing small animals. Understand that the neighbors do not all love your cat and they don't want your cat at their house. Keep the cat home and it won't get shot or poisoned. It won't get falsely accused, either, if it wasn't the guilty party, but only if you can prove where the cat was.

 

[The Big Dog]

Oregon Blues.....Top answer, my thoughts exactly.

 

[centrarchid]

Both OP and chicken owner are jumping gun.

Original account consistent with red fox tackling larger birds and cat was not observed directly to catch and kill birds. If neighbor still has birds out and you restrain cat, then losses will likely resume if no other changes. With a little CSI, you and neighbor may be able to find where carcasses are cached by fox, Finding cache will put evidence decidely on fox as culprit.

 

[suezqz_64]

Definitely not a domestic cat. Even my Main Coon mix wouldn't bother with my hens once they were grown and he was a 14 lbs cat. This was a dog-like animal. They are the ones that will carry off the body to eat away from the site. Maybe even a pack. I think they are blaming you because you're the new variable in the area and they probably haven't had problems before. It's purely circumstantial.

 

[HEChicken]

I'd put my money on a fox. I grew up in Melbs and if we forgot to lock the coop up even one night, we'd wake to devastation the next morning as fox(es) would get in and kill ALL the birds at once. If your neighbour wants to keep poultry, she will need a coop to lock them in at night or this will happen over and over.