Dog or Fox ?

[dawn]

40 of my neighbour's chickens were killed last night. They have about 20 left. Ours are fine thankfully but the scene in the field next to our garden this morning was heartbreaking with bodies scattered over a wide area, both in and out of the enclosures. Our neighbours breed them as a hobby and sell so there is a financial loss too but the adult breeding birds were pets with names. They had a range of sizes and types, from tiny little silkies to magnificant large ones with fantastic coloured plumage (can't remember the breed) and some particularly lovely araucunas. All dead.

The bodies are almost all intact, with only one or two gnawed a bit. Whatever it was had clawed off the back panel of one coop (it was one of those that unclipped for cleaning) and trampled down the chicken wire around an enclosure. There are quite large paw prints in the mud in the enclosures where there are dead birds, but I couldn't tell if they were dog or fox - I don't know enough but my son took a photo so I'll look properly later and google it. There are alpacas in the field which my neighbours say should see off a fox but are no match for a large dog. They are unhurt but unsettled.

I heard a dog barking from beyond the chicken field last night. It is open country for miles and no dogs live out there. I went to the end of our garden but the barking seemed to be moving away and all was quiet in the chicken field, it was really dark so I couldn't see anything in there. I wish I'd investigated further.

Foxes are rarely seen near us and none of the chicken keepers in our small village can remember a fox attack but I guess they must be around in the fields. Dogs have been a problem, and one in particular keeps escaping and has been in our garden worrying my chickens a number of times recently. My chickens have an electric fence around them during the day and are in a coop within a roofed poultry protection cage at night. They used to free range but I've had to build up the layers of protection over the years because of the dogs.
I'd like to know whether this is characteristic of a dog or a fox attack, or could be either. If it was a fox I know it will be back, perhaps in daylight next time. My electric fence was set up to protect from dogs, and a more agile fox could probably get in by jumping on a nearby wall and on to the top of the cage and down. Does anyone have any ideas ?

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[karminski]

sounds to me it was a poss fox attack but as no one saw anything it will be hard to tell only way to figure it out is to get cctv but that aint easy , most foxes dont do much damage from what i can tell from reading things on the internet an seing the tv i would assume a dog would do a lot more damage to the bird .
some travellers had chickens at the stables i am at with my horses and the birds were not that well protected but one night the fox finally had them all in the morning it was bodies everywhere scattered all over the gardens ,round the house and even some were dragged round into the yard and left in the stables it was so horrible to see them laying there but there was hardly any damage done to them .
i cant imagine what they feel must be going though am sending them hugs

 

[Bickerton]

With all the wet ground is there no tracks?

 

[Kalynta]

So very sad, hope you find out what it was, so steps can be taken to prevent it happening again.

 

[tygrysek75]

What you describe it can be dog or a fox both capable to do same damage.

 

[Chuck]

This is typical of a fox attack where the chickens are enclosed. They kill a lot and will keep returning for the bodies over several days. If you can borrow a fox trap, now is the time to set it up, using the bodies as bait. Foxes are everywhere, even though they may go unseen.
It could also be a dog so I wouldn't rule it out completely.
Always a terrible feeling which stays with you for quite a time afterwards.

 

[chrismahon]

Foxes kill by shaking and breaking the necks Dawn. Some heads are usually bitten off and taken to eat. But a hunting dog will do this as well. Judging from the enclosure damage I would suspect a large hunting breed dog in this case. The lack of missing heads points to them being killed for 'fun' rather than food. Dogs is our problem here as well, rather than foxes. The foxes are there but they are completely wild, rather than the urban variety that will hunt in the day. We are also building up our defences progressively. The Chasse is out today and not far away so all the chickens are confined to their secure runs.

 

[Fuzzyfelt123]

Being a new chicken owner I have had no experience of this - I just wanted to say how sorry i am to hear such dreadful news.

 

[Marigold]

Only too common I'm afraid - though how some people get away with it I can't imagine. A woman 3 houses from us has her hens in a chicken netting enclosure, not electrified, and sagging so badly I'm constantly catching them when they hop out and wander off down the road and into peoples gardens. Her house backs straight on to open fields where I often smell fox when I walk the dog past the hedgerows. So far they seem to have been left alone, goodness knows how. I only hope that when a fox does find them, he won't move along to my garden when he has dealt with hers!