Possible crow attack?

[McChooky]

I can't even see a Raven having a big enough beak and they don't have talons to carry anything that big off. I pray that the rest of your flock stays safe.

These were young leghorn pullets weighing considerably less than adult hens the same breed. (size of game hens) Could have been a large migrating bird or a fox even a bob cat but doesn't explain why they were there to start with.Only time I've lost any in 4 yrs and had a yard full of them probably 5-6

 

[McChooky]

I can't even see a Raven having a big enough beak and they don't have talons to carry anything that big off. I pray that the rest of your flock stays safe.

Ravens are my number one suspects for those girls because not another living thing was in my yard except the ravens I saw on the ground .They flew off immediately upon seeing me

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Other than seeing some crows take flight and fly out of my yard where my chickens were free ranging (and my roosters were sounding alerts) I never saw anything that could have taken them.Nonetheless 2 of my girls were missing.Most likely they were Ravens and not crows.

I can't even see a Raven having a big enough beak and they don't have talons to carry anything that big off. I pray that the rest of your flock stays safe.

Yes, same thing, ravens, like crows, can't pick anything up in their feet. Both crows and ravens are carrion eaters. If it were me, I would go investigate the spot where I saw these black birds on the ground and see if I could find evidence of what they were eating - feathers, bone, anything.

 

[MROO]

My guess is that the crows were diving at whatever was after your chicks. A house-cat is perfectly capable of killing and dragging off a young bird ... and most crows HATE cats!

 

[McChooky]

My chickens were right in front of the run but no corpses or remains were found.I was suspicious of my cousins cats because he doesn't feed them regularly. He may have hid the bodies to avoid having to pay for those missing.I do find it suspicious my chickens won't go anywhere near his house now

 

[McChooky]

My guess is that the crows were diving at whatever was after your chicks. A house-cat is perfectly capable of killing and dragging off a young bird ... and most crows HATE cats!

My chickens used to free range between my cousins house and mine but they won't leave my yard anymore. They stay close to the coop and run.Some haven't left the coop since.

 

[Luv Ducks]

My chickens were right in front of the run but no corpses or remains were found.I was suspicious of my cousins cats because he doesn't feed them regularly. He may have hid the bodies to avoid having to pay for those missing.I do find it suspicious my chickens won't go anywhere near his house now

I have cameras around my pens and I see the neighbors cats stalk my ducks all night long in them. They can't get to them but if they could I am sure I would be missing some of them as I have everything from huge ones to my little Call Ducks and Black East Indies which are small also. I too think that is probably what it was.

 

[MROO]

My chickens were right in front of the run but no corpses or remains were found.I was suspicious of my cousins cats because he doesn't feed them regularly. He may have hid the bodies to avoid having to pay for those missing.I do find it suspicious my chickens won't go anywhere near his house now

I know this sounds counterintuitive, but feeding the cats (away from your birds, of course,) may solve your problem. Well-fed cats don't generally bother chickens ... but they're "Hades" on coop-mice!

 

[McChooky]

I know this sounds counterintuitive, but feeding the cats (away from your birds, of course,) may solve your problem. Well-fed cats don't generally bother chickens ... but they're "Hades" on coop-mice!

I feed it a plate full of wet and dry cat food early so it has all day to eat. Wildlife is out after dark so its pointless to try and feed it then

 

[Luv Ducks]

I know this sounds counterintuitive, but feeding the cats (away from your birds, of course,) may solve your problem. Well-fed cats don't generally bother chickens ... but they're "Hades" on coop-mice!

They may be great for mice and I agree that they are, the problem is my neighbor feeds them and what does cat food attract???? The Raccoons as he sees them eating the cat food. That is what killed my two ducks in my previous pens. That's why that would not work for me.