What killed her? (pictures included)

[Cloverr39]

Opened the coop today to see a dead pullet right by the door. She had some blood near her neck and upon further inspection I saw 3 tiny little holes in her neck. I'm assuming it's a predator that killed her. What could've done it and how do I prevent it from coming back?

 

[Cloverr39]

I had a 4 week old silkie chick disappear from a dog crate without a trace this summer. Do you think it could've been the same thing that killed my pullet this morning?

 

[Cloverr39]

I posted in a local Facebook group and many people said it was a marten. What could I try to close off all gaps in my coop with?

 

[Callender Girl]

First off, I am sorry for the loss of your girl. I have not dealt with martens, but I have some experience with their "cousin," the mink -- who also seem to kill for sport not for consumption of the bird.

Minks will always come back and try again, and they are able to squeeze through the smallest openings, where it seems impossible.

I don't know what your coop is made of, but 1/2-inch hardware cloth is your best friend. Fasten it over any gaps or holes. Don't just staple it in, really fasten that stuff down. I lay the hardware cloth down, then lay 1-by-2's on top of it and screw those down.

 

[Cloverr39]

First off, I am sorry for the loss of your girl. I have not dealt with martens, but I have some experience with their "cousin," the mink -- who also seem to kill for sport not for consumption of the bird.

Minks will always come back and try again, and they are able to squeeze through the smallest openings, where it seems impossible.

I don't know what your coop is made of, but 1/2-inch hardware cloth is your best friend. Fasten it over any gaps or holes. Don't just staple it in, really fasten that stuff down. I lay the hardware cloth down, then lay 1-by-2's on top of it and screw those down.

Thanks for the advice. I think it might not have been a marten, because those live near forests and I'm located in the city. Maybe a mink or weasel, but as far as I've read they tend to kill multiple birds at a time or eat the head or neck, whereas in my case only one was killed and nothing was eaten. So far it (thankfully) hasn't come back either. Likely something small, as the bite was about 1cm or a little smaller.
I've been leaving the coop lights on overnight, and slowly working at all the gaps in the coop I can find every day.
I've also been taking my most valuable birds inside overnight since the attack. Once I'll have all the big obvious holes repaired I'll probably let them all sleep outside again. I hope that will be in a few days.

 

[peafowl_Lover]

Hi if the mink is still a problem you should buy a mink trap and put raw mackerel in it, I had 2 young peacocks that a mink killed and we set a trap and caught it in 2/3 days

 

[TOR]

The animal did not eat anything , but looks like it bleed it. Weasel usually does more damage. They will feed on the blood.
If you google weasle traps and look at images not hard to make.
Put up a game camera, let you know what your against.
My guess is as the others memeber of the weasel family.
It prolly be back.