Chicken predator identification is important so chicken keepers know what has attacked their flock and how to prevent it from happening again by protecting your flock from common predators.
First thing in the morning, Tara and her young son Beckett did what they always did: they took a short walk in their backyard to the coop where their four hens lived. As they drew closer, however, Tara sensed something wrong. She told Beckett to wait, then approached the henhouse slowly—only to see a quartet of bodies slumped on the ground, motionless. Quickly, she took a confused Beckett back to the house and, once he was occupied, returned to investigate.
“It was like something made a hole in their chests and sucked the insides out. What did that to my chickens?” she asked me.
I get this question far too often. I hate to hear how birds, sometimes entire flocks, get decimated by nocturnal and diurnal predators. Several times over the years, this has happened to our flocks. I can tell from looking at a dead animal which animal did it, whether it was a raccoon, dog, weasel, fox, coyote, or something else.
If you find that your flock has been attacked, this is a list of chicken predators that you can use to learn how to protect your flock from being attacked again.
If you find your chicken with its head missing, chances are the attacker is a raccoon or a bird of prey, such as a hawk. Birds of prey will swoop down and scare chickens, who sometimes jump up in fear and get their heads caught in the netting or mesh that covers their run. A hawk or other bird of prey will then grab the head with its powerful talons and rip it off. Raccoons will also rip the heads off chickens through fencing, often reaching through at ground level to grab a chicken and pull its head off, leaving its body on the other side of the fence.
Raising chickens comes with the risk that predators may target your flock. A common sign of a chicken predator attack is finding headless chickens in the pen. While unsettling, examining the manner of death can help identify the predator responsible.
Common Chicken Predators
Chickens make for easy prey due to their large bodies and slow movements Some common chicken predators include
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Raccoons – Will reach through wire fencing or coop openings to grab a chicken’s head and rip it off, leaving the body behind. The most likely suspect if headless chickens are found near fencing.
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Weasels – Includes fishers, martens, minks, and ferrets. Weasels are agile predators that can enter small openings. They tend to kill chickens and leave the carcasses largely intact.
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Owls – Great horned owls and other large owl species prey on chickens. Owls prefer to eat the head first targeting the brain which is high in protein.
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Foxes – Foxes are capable of carrying off entire mature chickens. Look for missing birds and scattered feathers as signs of a fox attack.
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Coyotes – Like foxes, coyotes can kill full-sized chickens and carry carcasses away.
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Dogs—Dogs usually kill chickens by shaking them and breaking their necks. If the dog was chasing them for fun, the chickens might not be eaten.
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Cats – Feral and domestic cats opportunistically hunt chickens. Their prey will have wounds from their claws and teeth.
Clues Left Behind By Different Predators
Carefully examining how a chicken was killed can provide clues to identify the predator:
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Missing eggs – Rats, snakes, skunks, raccoons, crows, and opportunistic chickens may be stealing eggs.
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Missing chickens – When entire birds disappear, suspect foxes, coyotes, bobcats, dogs, hawks, or owls depending on the size of chicken taken.
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Intact dead chickens – Chickens killed by bites without missing parts likely indicates a dog or cat attack. Also potentially a chicken that died of natural causes or illness.
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Bloody but intact carcasses – Weasels kill chickens aggressively, often leaving them bloodied but uneaten.
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Headless chickens – Headless carcasses with an intact body strongly suggest owl or raccoon predation.
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Other signs – Look for predator scat, tracks, and feathers. Set up a game camera to potentially photograph the predator in action.
Protecting Your Flock from Future Attacks
Once you’ve identified likely predators, take steps to protect your chickens:
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Install secure fencing with small mesh to prevent raccoons from reaching in. Bury fencing to stop digging predators.
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Ensure coops and runs are sealed against entry, with no gaps bigger than 1-2 inches. Use hardware cloth or wire mesh for maximum security.
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Deter aerial predators like hawks with wire or netting over outdoor runs.
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Use motion-activated lights, sounds, or scarecrows to frighten predators.
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Keep a guard animal such as a dog, goose, or rooster to alert you and confront predators. Supervise dogs around chickens.
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Lock chickens in predator-proof coops at night and when unattended.
Predators are an unfortunate reality of raising backyard chickens. Stay vigilant and take preventative measures to protect your valued flock. Examining attack evidence can help you identify the culprit and enhance defenses against future attacks. With awareness and proper precautions, you can minimize risks to your chickens.
Missing or Damaged Eggs
A number of predators prey on poultry eggs. Snakes swallow eggs whole. Rats carry eggs away a short distance, then eat them. A skunk punches a hole into an egg, then sticks its muzzle in to lick out the contents. Raccoons and opossums tend to crush eggs to eat them, leaving behind a mess of mashed shell and oozing interiors. Blue jays and crows are known to occasionally prey on poultry eggs.
Wounds Near the Vent; Entrails Pulled Out
If your chicken is still alive and has bite marks and cuts around her vent, or if she is dead and her intestines have been pulled out through her vent, the animal that did this is probably a weasel. Weasels, minks, ferrets, badgers and martens wrap themselves around their prey’s body and attack the vent area. Members of the weasel family will also bite a bird at the base of the skull to kill it before feeding. (Here’s a video of how to identify predators with a simple scent station. ).
This gruesome carnage signifies a common poultry predator, the raccoon. This type of predation pattern often occurs when a raccoon has gotten into a coop at night. It will typically feed on one or two chickens in this manner, then depart, leaving the remains behind.
If one of your birds seems to have simply disappeared, or if there is nothing but a scattering of feathers in the coop, run or yard, the probable culprit is a fox. Foxes tend to kill or severely injure their prey, then carry them back to their dens, often to feed their kits. Coyotes and bobcats are also known to carry off their prey, as are hawks, owls and other birds of prey.
If you are missing one or more chicks, you might have a rat or opossum problem. Both predators grab infant poultry off an unguarded nest and carry them away. Rat snakes also prey on chicks, eating them whole. Another carnivore that targets chicks is the domestic cat, which tends to carry chicks off to play with this lively new toy elsewhere.
What Animal Bites Chickens Heads?
FAQ
What animal eats the heads off chickens?
Raccoons and birds of prey, such as hawks and owls, are the most common culprits for decapitating chickens. Raccoons are known to reach through fences or wire mesh to grab and pull off chicken heads, often leaving the body behind.
What would just eat the head of a chicken?
The animal that killed the birds and took their heads off could be a raccoon, a hawk, or an owl. Raccoons have been known to pull a bird’s head through the wires of a cage and then eat only the head, leaving the rest of the body behind.
What will take the head of a chicken?
Anything from weasel to bobcat, owls even, will take the head. Foxes usually carry the chicken when they flee, even carrying two if they are not struggling anymore.
Do possums eat chicken heads off?
Opossums, no. Raccoons are the ones who bite the heads off of chickens.