Need Help Identifying Killer

[Phantom_k9]

Good evening yall,
I really hate that most of my recent post have been about grim topics.
I went outside today to find one of our sweet juvenile chickens, killed. This is the risk of free ranging chickens, especially when you don't have a fence. We had planned to put in a fence either before or just after we got chickens, but fencing in our property cost a lot of money that we simply don't have. Early this morning, just after I had let the chickens out, I got a text from my dad (who was taking my little sister to school), which read "there is a dog up the road from us, FYI". The dog was about 70 yards from our front yard, where the chickens stay during the day (and also where the body was found). Currently, I have three theories as to what could have been the killer.

Theories:
a) It could have been the dog. This wouldn't be the first time this dog had scared our flock. There is a guy who lives up the hill about 100-120 yards from us, and he is notorious for leaving his gate open. I am not sure how many dogs he has, but at least one a month, some of his dogs gets out and makes a scene in the neighborhood. If this is the general consensus, I should talk about how to legally go about this (more on this below)
b) It could have been a hawk or bird of prey. We have had a bunch of Mexican goshawks (or other native Texan grey hawks) in the area. Just yesterday, two were perched in a tree in our yard not far from our flock. I tend to shoot at them with a bb gun to get them to leave, but maybe they came back? With this, there have been a lot of crows and/or ravens in the area. I know that ravens can draw in predators in order to get an easy kill. Some more legal questions down below.
c) It could have been another chicken. I should stress, I do not think this is even close to possible. The only culprit in the flock could be our Rhode Island Red hen, who has gotten pretty mean. I don't think it was this due to the wounds, and due to the fact that all of the others were hiding, including her.

Description of the scene (a bit graphic):
There was a chunk taken out of the right side of the back of her head. I believe this is the cause of death. The only way I can describe it is almost akin to a shotgun shot. The bloody area on her head was probably only the size of a quarter. Something had began to eat at her left side, thigh region. The wound looked as if something was tearing pieces off. There were feathers only local to the scene, not a big fight and the body probably wasn't moved -she probably died where i found her-. Ants had started to get to work, their hill only a foot away. However, none of the parts that ants take care of first seemed to be affected, implying it just happened?

About two hours later, a heavy storm was predicted to move in. It hasn't hit yet, but it still might. The winds have been crazy for a while now.

Legal Questions:
a) If it was the dog, what all am i able to do? How much could we possible get from a settlement, and would we be able to get the legal fees covered?
b) If it was a hawk / bird of prey, how far can one go to protect the flock? If it was a hawk, I know it will probably come back for more and will probably succeed until something is done about the bird. I should state, i'm providing a hypothetical, not making any claims about my actions if this is the case.
For context, I live in Texas.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

This is a mystery for Sherlock Holmes.
I am sorry about the loss of your chicken. It seems odd that the killer didn’t take her away. I am leaning toward your theory of the hawk because there were small body parts “eaten”. The hawk may have been frightened away by something.
I am thinking that a dog might take the whole chicken with him when he would leave the scene.
All you can do is fence an area in for the chickens to forage even if you have to enclose a smaller area than you originally wanted. That doesn’t prevent aerial strikes though unless you cover with netting.

 

[thepick4uchicks]

Good evening yall,
I really hate that most of my recent post have been about grim topics.
I went outside today to find one of our sweet juvenile chickens, killed. This is the risk of free ranging chickens, especially when you don't have a fence. We had planned to put in a fence either before or just after we got chickens, but fencing in our property cost a lot of money that we simply don't have. Early this morning, just after I had let the chickens out, I got a text from my dad (who was taking my little sister to school), which read "there is a dog up the road from us, FYI". The dog was about 70 yards from our front yard, where the chickens stay during the day (and also where the body was found). Currently, I have three theories as to what could have been the killer.

Theories:
a) It could have been the dog. This wouldn't be the first time this dog had scared our flock. There is a guy who lives up the hill about 100-120 yards from us, and he is notorious for leaving his gate open. I am not sure how many dogs he has, but at least one a month, some of his dogs gets out and makes a scene in the neighborhood. If this is the general consensus, I should talk about how to legally go about this (more on this below)
b) It could have been a hawk or bird of prey. We have had a bunch of Mexican goshawks (or other native Texan grey hawks) in the area. Just yesterday, two were perched in a tree in our yard not far from our flock. I tend to shoot at them with a bb gun to get them to leave, but maybe they came back? With this, there have been a lot of crows and/or ravens in the area. I know that ravens can draw in predators in order to get an easy kill. Some more legal questions down below.
c) It could have been another chicken. I should stress, I do not think this is even close to possible. The only culprit in the flock could be our Rhode Island Red hen, who has gotten pretty mean. I don't think it was this due to the wounds, and due to the fact that all of the others were hiding, including her.

Description of the scene (a bit graphic):
There was a chunk taken out of the right side of the back of her head. I believe this is the cause of death. The only way I can describe it is almost akin to a shotgun shot. The bloody area on her head was probably only the size of a quarter. Something had began to eat at her left side, thigh region. The wound looked as if something was tearing pieces off. There were feathers only local to the scene, not a big fight and the body probably wasn't moved -she probably died where i found her-. Ants had started to get to work, their hill only a foot away. However, none of the parts that ants take care of first seemed to be affected, implying it just happened?

About two hours later, a heavy storm was predicted to move in. It hasn't hit yet, but it still might. The winds have been crazy for a while now.

Legal Questions:
a) If it was the dog, what all am i able to do? How much could we possible get from a settlement, and would we be able to get the legal fees covered?
b) If it was a hawk / bird of prey, how far can one go to protect the flock? If it was a hawk, I know it will probably come back for more and will probably succeed until something is done about the bird. I should state, i'm providing a hypothetical, not making any claims about my actions if this is the case.
For context, I live in Texas.

Thanks in advance for the help.

I am so sorry about the loss of your poor bird and the scene you had. I am also sorry to say that I don’t think you are going to have much of a case yet. If it’s dogs which it probably is you are going to have to start setting up a trail came and getting footage recorded for proof and also getting proof that the dogs are the neighbors in question. That should be easy enough to do if other neighbors are willing to talk.
2. Hawks. How big are these hawks? If they are big then it could be. We have red-tailed hawks in MS and they can kill a chicken and carry one off. They have large wingspans if they are large and old enough. So it’s possible but mostly they aren’t going to be vulnerable and eat it on the ground.
Basically, I would write down everything that happened today. Take pictures if you can and be sure you put down as many details as you can about the gate the dog everything that you remember. Then start documenting and recording everything from here on out if you plan to try to work towards getting any kind of money from your neighbors to replace your lost chickens. The trail cams are your best investment truly.

 

[Phantom_k9]

I am so sorry about the loss of your poor bird and the scene you had. I am also sorry to say that I don’t think you are going to have much of a case yet. If it’s dogs which it probably is you are going to have to start setting up a trail came and getting footage recorded for proof and also getting proof that the dogs are the neighbors in question. That should be easy enough to do if other neighbors are willing to talk.
2. Hawks. How big are these hawks? If they are big then it could be. We have red-tailed hawks in MS and they can kill a chicken and carry one off. They have large wingspans if they are large and old enough. So it’s possible but mostly they aren’t going to be vulnerable and eat it on the ground.
Basically, I would write down everything that happened today. Take pictures if you can and be sure you put down as many details as you can about the gate the dog everything that you remember. Then start documenting and recording everything from here on out if you plan to try to work towards getting any kind of money from your neighbors to replace your lost chickens. The trail cams are your best investment truly.

Thanks for the advise. I have documented pretty much everything that I could from the scene, the area around it, potential prints, even the guys gate. I do have a trail cam, but its missing its strap. Ill try to set it up some time soon.
As for the hawks, im not sure how to describe their size. I would say they are about the size of a football, around that range.

 

[wyoDreamer]

If it were a dog, there probably would be feathers all over. A dog will most likely be doing the killing for fun and what is more fun that plucking a chicken.
It sounds like a hawk to me. Some hawks kill by impact and breaking the back/neck of their prey. Others kill by grabbing the prey with their talons and then kill it. A hawk will pluck a small area to eat and then pluck another area, and so forth. Damage to the head of the chicken but not much else besides eating, sounds like a hawk to me.

 

[thepick4uchicks]

Thanks for the advise. I have documented pretty much everything that I could from the scene, the area around it, potential prints, even the guys gate. I do have a trail cam, but its missing its strap. Ill try to set it up some time soon.
As for the hawks, im not sure how to describe their size. I would say they are about the size of a football, around that range.

Your welcome. Hawk could have gotten interrupted from eating but not have been large enough to carry your hen off maybe. He could have been also frightened away by the dog. Who knows? Really hard to say so the camera will help you in several ways and just ease your mind.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

Good idea, a trail cam!