I'm new to all of this, so pardon me if I am rehashing old news (I did sift through lots of notes), or posting incorrectly. I'm sure you'll set me straight!

The problem? Within the past two weeks, my flock has been culled for me (from 17 to 10) by Mother Nature's creatures. But which one(s)? 4 of the kills looked like this: large masses of feathers in several locations in the yard, neck snapped low, bird on its back, breast meat and vital organs eaten, head eaten or left alone, entrails left alone, legs untouched. These birds were fairly large, 2 yr. old hens -- Rhode Island Red, Buff Rock, Light Brahma, Auracana. All kills were at night, at least two birds were removed from the hen house as the small (hen-sized) door was left open. I suspect a bobcat, seen in broad daylight about a month before the killings, but what do their kills look like? The kills were on successive nights.

Yesterday and today, I found the feathers of two of my silkies, but no bodies. And these last two kills were during the day when I was gone. I found them around 5pm. One Auracana has gone AWOL, presumably thinking she can fend better for herself without this bumbling human protector!

Any ideas as to who I'm dealing with, and what I should do? I'm ok with the balance of nature, and don't really want to kill the perpetrators. I just want to put them off. The birds are now locked up at night (Fort Knox!) so the nighttime killing has stopped. But this daytime stuff has me stumped.

Thanks for any advice. I'm frustrated and sad.

That's the great thing about this board. I am certain you will get a response from somebody who has dealt specifically with bobcats and can tell you if the description sounds right. At first I was thinking dogs but I don't think it is too common that they will actually eat the chicken. Fox or bobcat or something along those lines might very well be the culprit.

The main thought I had when reading your post was that I do understand the aversion to killing a predator but once they have learned that there is a buffet at your place, you are sunk. You can trap and relocate some but that isn't always effective nor is it easy to do. We protect our birds as best we can and we do kill predators. I don't consider raiding my chicken coop a balance of nature. I brought these birds in and this is not their "natural" environment. Just my 2¢.

Good luck! Hope you find answers and solution ideas here!

I would suspect canines of some sort during the day, dogs usually just kull many and dont eat. Coyotes will eat some. It could be bobcat, but would think it would take 1 at a time and remove himself and prey from premises. Fox mostly take their kill home especially when they have kits. My guess is a big ol coon. Trap and release is not always a good option unless you are familiar with that animals way of life. If you wre to release a meat eater near anothers farm , where do you suppose he would first look to dine.

Night time and clumps of feathers suggests raccoons or possums, and both will go after entrails. I would expect a fox to snag the bird, perhaps leaving a few feathers right there, and carry off the prey to a secluded place. Raccoons and possums are mostly nocturnal, but once they find a place to eat can come back any time of the day or night. If you have snow where you are, both of these should be hibernating now, but will make appearances during warm spells.
Be prepared to eliminate any of these if you see them. Are you in a location where Ruger, Mossberg, Marlin, or Winchester can help you out? Let us know how this turns out.

I would not rule out a simple dog or cat. Since it's in the daytime and from what you described, it sounds like a dog.