[Swing Swang]

A question on behalf of my Dad (in Portugal),

He's lost all of his hens from one of his pens in just over a week - always in 3s or 4s, and always at night.

Surrounded by a 4ft fence which has kept them contained for the last four years.

Absolutely no evidence of predation - feathers/dead birds etc. so that rules out Mr Fox.

He's seen mink, but neither of us have any idea as to how they take birds.

The ducks in the adjoining pen are all still there.

Is there any natural predator that behaves in this way or do we have to consider the two-legged variety? These weren't great birds so wouldn't have had a significant commercial value - just fairly bog standard 1-3 year old RIRs.

Severely annoying, especially as my nephew bought three of them with his pocket money last year as is/was looking forward to visiting 'his' birds next month.

SS

[too many girls]

sounds like a fox to me, people would have taken the lot in one go and not risked coming back, a fox can easily clear a 4ft fence with a bird in his mouth and then come back for seconds.

[Swing Swang]

I was under the impression that foxes went on a killing spree and left a lot of evidence/feathers/dead bodies etc though.

SS

[too many girls]

not always, the fox that got mine did, but i did watch a program once and it showed a fox bite through chicken wire, go through the pop hole and emerge with a chuck that he then ran off with, he returned a few minutes later and took another one, he didn't stop untill he had all of them away, Pip and i sat and watched devastated because they looked like polands, Pip couldn't understand the guy filming it not saving them.

[joyfull]

if the fox has cubs they will also keep them complete to take back to feed their young.

[two webbed feet]

I had a drake taken by a fox a few weeks ago and there was no sign of any struggle/feathers etc.  Fox even came back the next evening for seconds (although we chased him off this time).