WHAT PREDATOR DID THIS?

What happened to my chicks if one of them are missing another is dead and cut in the belly intestines everywhere with a left wing eaten and another with a few scrapes along the head,eyes, along the back and behind the head with a trace of a few(2 small baby chick) feathers left on a wire which seems to be where the predator got in. I think this might have happened near morning and I am not sure what had killed my chicks. I found the dead chick behind chicken and the injured laying in the coop.It seems to have wanted midnight snack since it had left the rest of the other chicks perfectlyfine. The hole this animal left was had a circumfrence about maybe 3-5 in. We do live near a small lake and there has been alot of hawks eating my chicks when i just go inside to get water.I have never seen this and my dogs are not all interested in even touching these chicks.They were fine for about a week because i had just got them and I have just never encountered this and I just can't figure out what had eating/injured my chicks. Please respond because I want to make sure this predator will not be making its way back here anytime soon and I want to figure out what animal had eaten them.I can gladly submit 1 picture of the dead chick if needed.

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by: Sharon

I'm so sorry. I know a scene like this can be very upsetting.

When you have chickens, especially baby chicks, you have to make sure nothing can get to them. Since you live near a lake, you probably have all kinds of chicken predators living in the area or passing through for the water supply.

I don't know anything about where you live, you didn't say specifically. We get questions from all around the world and predators vary, depending where you are.

It probably wasn't a very big predator, since you only had one missing and others partially damaged. If the mother hen was not harmed, that also suggests a small predator. Some chicken predators are very small and may only drink blood from their victims, like a small weasel.

It sounds like you may not be aware of all the different animals in your area that can harm chickens and chicks. You need to find out possibly from a local wildlife agency or a neighbor that keeps chickens and knows more about predators in your area.

Many predators can get through the size hole you describe, even a domestic cat, but some larger animals, too.

Fat little chicks are a huge temptation for any predator. Chicks must be in a totally covered pen to prevent hawks and other birds of prey from snatching them up. They are totally defenseless and easy to catch. The larger the predator, the more they will eat.

You might be able to search the internet for wildlife in your county and see what animals they list.

Again, so sorry for your losses.

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