I found a chicken bloodied and mutilated in the chicken house with feathers all over as though a dog got in the chicken house. But the house and pen were closed up and no signs of holes where a large predator could have gotten. The house and pen are completely enclosed by either the house itself or the pen with 2" welded wire on the sides and 1" chicken wire on the top. This was done during the day (sometime between 8:00a.m. and 2:00p.m.)Several weeks ago I found another chicken with the front of it's neck all bloody, but alive and seemed to being doing well. And one of my roosters I found alive but blood on it's neck and it recovered ok. What could it be and what suggestions would you have to remedy this situation?

-- Jen Bayne (cbaynejr@coffey.com), January 05, 2002

Answers

Sounds like a member of the weasel/mink/ferrit/martin family. I'm not sure you can build a tight enough pen but look for any hole and get it patched. Shooting the beast might not be popular, but it is practical.

-- Ross (amulet@istar.ca), January 05, 2002.

2" wire won't stop a least weasel.

-- Darren (df1@infi.net), January 05, 2002.

'Possum, 'coon and owls can pull the chooks head thru a one inch wire. That's all they get 'cause the body won't fit thru the wire.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), January 05, 2002.

weasel or mink is my bet,, 2 inches isnt small enough to stop them. can you overlay with 1/2 inch? tie a dog up near the coop? set some rat traps out,, the large mouse traps kind,, bait with raw chicken or canned cat food

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 05, 2002.

Yep, I've seen coons eat a chicken (or what they could) through chicken wire. And sometimes even tho possums get in the coop, they only eat the craw. Haven't figured that one out yet. Coyote, cats, and dogs usually only leave a mess of feathers.

-- Kellie Duncan (kashaa@swbell.net), January 06, 2002.

Hi! I agree about the weasel. You could set out a live trap, (often rentable from your local feed store,) and find out for sure. Plus get to let it go miles from civilization; don't have to kill it yet get rid of the problem. :)

-- Leslie in MW OR (leslie@webolium.com), January 06, 2002.

Skunks as well as weasels start at the throat.

-- teri (dnsmacbeth@aol.com), January 06, 2002.

Jen,

How many roosters do you have in that enclosure? Sometime chickens will go after each other and kill other chickens. Especially of too many roosters are in the same pen, especially after their hormones kick in. I've had it happen and know that it was another chicken or groups of chickens, since they were all kept in secure 1" wire pens.

Also, had runt chickens get blooded from pecking, feather pulled from necks and even killed by the other chickens in the same pen. Learned to separate the runts out early or loose them.

Something to consider if their was no way for a predator to get at your chickens.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), January 06, 2002.

i'd say mink

-- indiana jack (injack1@aol.com), January 06, 2002.

Could be a snake too. We found a big black snake attacking our chickens once.

-- John Hayes (jehayes54@hotmail.com), January 07, 2002.

Not sure being the daytime, but could it have been oppossum? I shot one not too long ago (at night though), clinging to the top (9'from ground) of the chicken house fence after I heard a racket and caught it hanging on to one of our hens. Crawling over the top was the only possible way it could have gotten in. All but a few inches is enclosed at the top side, but it found that. The hen died, the modus operandi of the opossum appearing to be similiar to what you experienced. Any small holes in your fencing ANYWHERE?

-- Teddy Miller (millerfam@panhandle.net), January 08, 2002.

Thank you everyone for all the helpful information. We live in Montana, so I know that it couldn't be opposum. So far there are no racoons or skunks in the area. After sitting and watching the chickens for quite some time, I think I discovered what happened. I think it was my own roosters. I had two, (they became a neighbor's dinner)roosters and they were relentless with the hens. I started looking closer and all the hens had puncture wounds from being mounted so many times and when the rooster had focused on one particular hen after the 4th "round" it made her neck bloody. Since I have removed the roosters, the hens are all healing nicely and hopefully problem solved!

-- Jen Bayne (cbaynejr@coffey.com), January 18, 2002.