What beast would get over a 5' stock fence without any damage and kill ......

[TooManyHobbies]

Raccoon, maybe more than one. Fox would dig under. Owl would take one or eat it there but don't have the mobility to kill repeatedly. Fisher is possible if you have them in your area. Coyote would jump over, kill a bunch and grab one for the road and keep going with it.
I do wildlife control for a living, once in a while I get a call for what you described. Raccoons do the damage, but other predators are usually close by too. Secure the coop better. I put a quick clip on my coop door.

 

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[ticndig]

I also have a farm about an hour south of Cumberland in Lunenburg county.so maybe you're closer than you thought.

 

[ticndig]

sure the woods are full of critters that will take a free meal . I've been very lucky , I free range a flock of egg layers on most days and have only lost one bird this year. these woods are full of predators but they seem to hunt at night so we get along . at the other farm fox were a problem ,I shot 7 in two weeks to balance things out. at night the birds are locked in a building that nothing short of a bear can break into. the run is fenced on top and 2ft skirting along the ground covered in dirt and grass.

 

[Sheperdess]

It's a weasel. I had one get in my hen house once and kill all my young hens and it's sickening to open the door and see them all laying there dead. That little hole they leave is where they suck blood from them I was told.

 

[ticndig]

It's a weasel. I had one get in my hen house once and kill all my young hens and it's sickening to open the door and see them all laying there dead. That little hole they leave is where they suck blood from them I was told.

sorry but I must disagree , the weasel is able to kill a goose but there is no way for it to take a large goose over a 5ft fence . we have the least weasel which is smaller than a chipmunk and the long tail weasel which weighs in at a whopping 6.7 OZ as an adult.

Weasels are the reason I lock my birds up at night the largest openings on the chicken house are 1/2 hardware cloth over the windows with chain link over that to discourage bears.

 

[Mudflap]

Good thing your not in Skywalker Ranch as the UFOs hit them from overhead....... I've heard of foxes biting off the all the heads and then taking only one bird and leaving the coop. They go loco until all are deheaded. Don't know about the 5' fence though.


Was coyote calling one night with a friend and an owl swooped in and darn near scalped him!

 

[DizzyDigger]

I don't know the East coast predators as well as the ones this side
of the Rockies, but I'd suggest it could be a feral dog, or as said,
a 'Coon. I've seen feral dogs kill for fun, but never a raccoon. Their
MO is usually just to grab one and run..

TooManyHobbies, like you are now, I spent a lot of time doing
nuisance trapping. Out here in the far NW, the 'Coon moms have
just had their kits, and they aren't even out of the dens yet. The
moms are out feeding when they can get away, but the little ones
are at least a couple months away from any hunting training.

The fisher population in the Virginia's is quite small based on
some research, so I doubt that's your bad guy.

If I was called out to catch this critter, first thing I'd do is suggest
you add a couple more feet of fence (on top). I'd also make a small
bait site in the immediate area, and put a trail cam or two on it.

Next step would be an appropriate sized live trap, followed by relocation
or termination.

 

[releventchair]

Game cameras are helpful....Owl and coon will both take heads.
If a run is fenced on top , it should be double fenced about a foot or more apart.
When poultry is startled by owl and flys upwards ,heads are not poking through that way.

I'd be double checking the fence and it's corners ,perimeter too double checking for a way in/out besides over.

IF coyotes are in the region , I tend to blame them first for any mischief in my area of the midwest... Not saying that's right , but they can learn a fence. And haunt a neighborhood if food is there.

Coons can be taken (outside of prime pelt season as little as prime hides fetch anymore) in livetraps with a raw egg or two for bait.
If I had to gamble , (and a game camera would be better) , coons are suspected in your raid. Must be at least one that is experienced and large though.

 

[DizzyDigger]

One capable critter that hasn't been mentioned is a Mink.
They are ferocious hunters, but again I've never known
one to kill in bunches.

Creskol, You need to get a game camera out there,
pronto...I gots to know what this critter is..

(edit) On second thought, a mink is not large enough to drag a goose
over a 5' fence.

Whatever it was, considering that it found food there, it will be back.

 

[Gare]

If you have a trail camera or two you could put them on top of the posts and then you could be sure. If you don't have any i could loan you a couple

 

[creskol]

If you have a trail camera or two you could put them on top of the posts and then you could be sure. If you don't have any i could loan you a couple

Thanks for the offer, Gare. I probably won't try my hand at raising anymore geese after this, though. Not necessarily because of the episode, but mainly because I am getting to old to fool with it, and my motivational drive is waining daily.

 

[fistfulladirt]

Fox or coyote. I came home one day to my spread, there was a red fox sitting next to a dead hen. What a mess! The fox only killed two hens out of 12, but feathers were strewn about in a 100’x20’ area of the front yard. It looked as if it had killed them all, but only two.

 

[ticndig]

Fox or coyote. I came home one day to my spread, there was a red fox sitting next to a dead hen. What a mess! The fox only killed two hens out of 12, but feathers were strewn about in a 100’x20’ area of the front yard. It looked as if it had killed them all, but only two.

must of been a young fox with very little chicken killing experience. here they grab and run without ever dropping a feather.
most fox are too small to scale a fence with a full grown goose and most fox dig under not climb over a fence. and in the day time they charge the fence trying to get the bird to panic and fly out. could have been a coyote ,way more likely than a fox .

 

[AuMetal]

any number of things. dog, fox, coyote, bobcat, owl, eagle, osprey, otter, large domestic cat. depends on area you live in. you'd be surprised where coyotes and foxes are and people have no idea and think they're not.

 

[Tpmetal]

Creskol, come to think of it a big Great Horned Owl can do that. They are HUGE, hunt primarily at night and one swooped down on my friend's pea hen some years ago and took its head right off. I'm thinking owl now. They have a thing for going for the head. I could think now my headache is gone. Weasals generally strangle critters. Had one do that to a couple chickens years ago.

the head thing with owls is for water(brains) as they dont drink. not likely an owl killed all. they usually decapitate.

 

[Honest Samuel]

We all have to protect our birds and animals from wild animals.

 

[Trezurehunter]

Don't forget about death from above. Eagles, Owls, etc. Those big birds will take out small geese in the middle of the day.

 

[relicmeister]

Chupacabra? Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrow!

 

[relicmeister]

Raccoons only like things that taste like mango, chutney and burnt hair

 

[ticndig]

well looked who came to visit, miss bobcat , at 1030 in the morning . stood outside my window looking across the field at the chicken pen . pic is thru a window screen ,