what killed my chicken? :(

[super trowel]

hello all of you lovely people!

i went up to check on my chickens this morning and they were all their happily scratching, so i did what i needed to do then left them.

went back this afternoon to give them some treats and i noticed quite a few black feathers on the floor.
so i did the checks and noticed 2 feet away from the feathers was, well more then a headless chicken.
its head was missing, and it has been eaten out.
nearly half a chicken has gone missing.

anyway i cant see any holes anywhere, but i am thinking rats or anything like that can get in as i use that builders fence buried foot down.

i have had a fox attack before, so i know its not that.

but a few months back i had an Indian runner duck drown?!?
but i did notice it was missing allot of feathers around its neck, could this have been from the same thing.

best wishes to you all

steve

[binley100]

Chap at the lottie next door to me lost one to what we think was a stoat but it had actually dragged the chicken away .....Do you have netting across the top of the run?

[super trowel]

No netting.
And none of their wings have been clipped.
So I was under the impression they were happy because none have decided to leave yet
How big are stouts ( as he reaches for google)

[super trowel]

Smaller then a ferret
Even then I think a ferret could possibly get through.

[hollychap]

rats are known for this

[RichmondHens]

Sounds like a stoat to me. They can squeeze through very tiny gaps, smaller than you think.

[frias]

I met a hen keeper from Jersey who said there were no foxes there to get the chooks but pole cats were a real nuisance.

[kathyd]

Or a pine martin maybe? Apparently there are a lot around where I live - Brittany, but I'm sure they're in the UK too - and they're really vicious with chickens. We've just put chicken wire over as many of the smaller gaps as possible in our new chicken outhouse thingy which we knew was fox proof but hadn't considered the smaller predators until a neighbour mentioned them...

[veggiechicken]

What about mink? Saw one around my hen house once.

[petal]

Sounds like a mink- its the drowning of the indian runner that made me think of that- minks drag them under. You will need to set a trap.

[tlck9]

Mink can take out anything one pulled a planter I couldn't lift to take one of my 20year old carp...pests

[super trowel]

ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Have lost another baby! :'(

Her name was marmalade. She was one (of two) of my polish frizzles.
All that was left this time were her feathers.

I am prepared to do anything to stop this from happening!!
Please start throwing ideas my way.

And I am going to start scouring google.

[Suechooks]

Oh b+%%*r! Poor you. Have you found point of entry? Fencing needs to be small weld mesh and dug into ground at least 12" and roofed if possible with the same. If its mink they are vicious and it might be worth you trying to contact local gamekeeper/hunt or similar to try and trap it.
I do hope you get sorted - it must be devastating.

[RichmondHens]

Oh bad luck. As Sue says you will need to review your fencing asap, once they start coming in they will be hard to stop.

I think trapping or shooting is really the only way to go with mink or stoat.

[angelat]

so sorry to hear this has happened again, whoever the culprit is it has now sussed out how to get its prey. i do hope you can sort it. suechooks advice above was good it may be worth trying to get in touch with a local gamekeeper.