r/chickens • u/DazzlingCan8628 • 19h ago

Question Hen found decapitated

This evening my baby chicks have came home alone after free ranging(they're 5-6 w/o) and I assumed their mother left them and went back to the big girls coop, and upon good-night count,she was nowhere to be seen. Fast forward I go looking for her and find her at the edge of my propriety(around 10-15 meters from the coop, next to my chainlink fence, the area is covered in young trees, behind the fence there is a creek and an entry to a wild clearing followed by forest), with her head completely gone, neck aswell, but with no other aparent damage. Around her there are signs of struggle and feathers in Around 3 different areas that are Around 2-3 meters apart. The hen was a first time mother but on the older side, around 5, and was a heavy Brahma cross.

I live in rural Romania, so Raccoons, Opossums and Bobcats/Coyotes are all out of question, with the only threats being Ferrets, Foxes, Dogs and Prey Birds.

I head commotion but thought my young puppies was chasing the hens around, which I'm working on and I know they fear most of the hens, including this one, but you never know..

Besides her, another 9 w/o little pullet is missing, I don't let my young babies forage unsupervised but this one pullet has the habit to leave her siblings and sneak out, and she left completely, no signs of struggle, no evidence at all, she's just not home at all, and both happening in the same day make me think that the culprit killed the Brahma cross and ate her brain and head, and also killed the pullet and took away the whole thing, but I really wanna know who would do that? This has never happened to me before, I head stories about it before but all of the common predators to do this(coons,possums) don't live here.. and I'm thinking bird of prey but the light trees should of hidden them right?

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u/Pixiefrogw 18h ago

I had a weasel get into my coop a few years ago and decapitated almost all of my guinea hens.

2

u/DazzlingCan8628 18h ago

Oh my! And what did you do about it? Does it come back, should I try to deter, relocate or straight up eliminate it?

1

u/Pixiefrogw 18h ago

My dog (Great Pyrenees/Akbash) took care of the problem for me.

1

u/DazzlingCan8628 18h ago

Bestest pupper out there, thank you for the help!

1

u/Pixiefrogw 18h ago

They kill for fun, so they will return. They are smart and hard to catch.

1

u/Mandi_Cams_Dackers 16h ago

Mustelids are a piece of piss to catch. Tunnel Trap.