I started the winter with eight hens, and I’m already twice as familiar with chicken predators as I want to be. That’s right. I’m down to six, and my goal for the rest of the winter is to not give any more chicken predators their much sought after dinner. Now I live in a semi-rural area in Crownsville, Maryland, USA. So you probably have different predators than I do, but my list will reflect my experience.

I would love to read about your area’s predators though! When you comment below, make sure to include your region and whether you live in an urban, semi-rural, or rural area!

 

Chicken Predators that Love Your Chickens as Much as You

Raccoons:

Before I moved out here and got chickens, I only ever worried about raccoons messing with my garbage. That was before I found this one evening when I waited too long after dusk to close my coop:

 

Actually, there was a headless chicken body there, but this was my first murdered chicken, and I didn’t take a picture. My husband came out to take care of the poor Barred Rock’s body, and all I was left with was feathers.

Racoons are nocturnal creatures with opposable thumbs. They look cute, but your view will change once you find a headless bird in your yard. According to Imperfectly Happy Homesteading, removing the chicken’s head and croup is a sure sign that your flock hosted a raccoon for dinner. That sounded likely in my case since I wasn’t feeling well that day, and it got dark before I could get outside to close things up.

Foxes:

Foxes look cute too, and I have seen them around the neighborhood, so I know they are out here. My second chicken, a lovely Buff Orpington, left behind a mess of feathers in the fight for her life:

 

 

 

Countryside Daily blames foxes when the entire bird vanishes, leaving behind only feathers (they have a nifty chart, check it out). One of my other hens, Carrot the Rhode Island Red was also missing feathers, so I assume the fox went after her first. I was pretty mad since I only purchased that Buff as a pullet in August last year. Foxes are also more likely to attack in early to mid-spring (March-April) to feed their kits. They can have up to ten babies, so stay vigilant!

Domestic Dogs:

Many of us bring home our chickens to our friendly family canines. Except your family dog can be one of the worst chicken predators. Because he likely isn’t used to being around small poultry, he can end up being your flocks worst nightmare. Personally, we don’t have a dog at the moment, but we want to get one either next year or the year after that. Whenever that happens, our dog breed will be selected for herding instincts and will be trained not to hurt our animals.

Your neighborhood dogs are just as much a risk, and that is why domestic dogs make it on my list. There is one dog in my neighborhood whose owners let it roam widely without a leash, and I’m worried it will go after my chickens one day. They let it run deep into our yard everytime they walk by, and it infuriates me since I also have small children.

Hawks:

Hawks or other birds of prey are tough because they might carry off the whole bird, or they may eat it on site. If you have a carcass to look at, then owls might leave deep marks on the head or neck or eat those sections entirely. Hawks generally just eat until they are ready to fly off. If they do carry off your bird, then feathers may be all you have to show for it.

Another Homestead Lesson Learned

The two chickens I lost to predators so far this season have taught me valuable lessons. Basically, that all of the rules they tell you about caring for hens matter ten times more when the winter time rolls around. I let a few rules relax, like going out before dark to close the coop, and we were fine for months. However, chicken predators desperately need more food in the winter, and that is when they are more likely to attack your flock. When I lost my first two hens within two weeks of each other, I felt like one of the people born during the long summer in Game of Thrones, surprised and clueless. I’m learning now though.