Instead, they might eat a chick or two and then be well fed, not needing to eat for another several weeks. Despite their bad reputation, snakes are far less common chicken predators than some of the other animals on this list.Īlso, snakes are unlikely to kill several chickens at once or continue to come back to pick off your flock. Rat snakes have the ability to eat smaller chicks and even chicken eggs. Rat snakes Rat snakes by Daina Krumins from Pixabay Bobcats are capable of taking one or two birds in a single outing and will often carry the birds away before beginning to feast. They capitalize on free-ranging chickens rather than sneaking into a coop to take sleeping chickens. You may also like: 7 Different Insects That Eat Wood (Pictures) Bobcats Bobcats Eszter Miller from Pixabayīobcats are another known predator of chickens that will take chickens in both rural and suburban areas, however they are more common in more rural areas. Raccoons will hardly eat then entire chicken but instead leave most of the carcass, which is a pretty good indicator that it is a raccoon that got to your chicken rather than another predator.
Raccoons will go after chickens at night which is also when they are most vulnerable. Raccoons are notorious for getting into people’s unattended garbage cans, but these omnivores are also known for taking a chicken from time to time. They have no problems taking down chickens, and have been known to kill an entire flock of chickens in one night. In fact, they have been known to kill large birds like gulls or cormorants by grabbing them behind the neck and then drowning them. Mink are carnivorous and can take down animals much larger than them. Mink, also known as weasels, are small but fierce predators. Sometimes they might eat the chick, but oftentimes cats will kill chicks (and other animals) just for fun. While most cats won’t go after a full-grown chicken, they would have no problem going after a fresh chick or even larger chick. Cats are excellent hunters which give them the upper hand when they are stalking their next victim. Outdoor or feral cats are a huge problem for both native wildlife and domestic livestock such as chickens or ducks.
Coyotes tend to be more common in suburban areas than foxes so if you live in a more built-up area and have chickens, then coyotes are likely a bigger threat.Ĭoyotes have been known to dig under the chicken wire to get to the chickens where they will either eat them on the spot or carry them away leaving very few signs behind that they were ever there. Like foxes, coyotes are another common chicken predator. Coyotes coyotes-faces by DustyR from Pixabay
In some cases, your chicken might just vanish without signs of struggle or distress which is a good indicator that it was a fox that took it. These nocturnal animals are incredibly sneaky and cunning which makes it hard to anticipate when one might be stalking your chickens or scoping out your coop. Foxes Foxes by David Mark from Pixabayįoxes are perhaps the most common chicken predator. In this article, we’ll be listing some common predators of chickens and even give a few ways to help prevent your flock from being picked off by predators. But, if you keep chickens then you may encounter unwanted predators that kill chickens lurking around your yard. Many people, even those in suburban areas, keep chickens as they are relatively low maintenance and can help subsidize grocery bills by producing a healthy supply of eggs. Conflict between humans that keep livestock and potential predators that kill or take livestock has likely been an issue since humans first started keeping livestock.
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