[pandora]

In 3 days I have lost 5 of my Pekin chicks. They were about 12 weeks old, outside in a run with their Silkie 'mum' and her 4 older babies from last year. 4 have been found dead in the run and one outside. They have been killed one at a time in daylight while I have been around the yard. They have been dismembered and partially eaten. The run is enclosed with a 6ft high thick wire mesh fence. A rat family has recently moved into an old mole hole, but they are being effectively dealt with with poison. I have another dozen hens and 8 ducks in the neighbouring run and when there has been any kind of predator in the vicinity before they usually go mad, but this week I have had no alarm calls from them.

Our local foxes are no strangers to me and on the 2 occasions they have been successful they usually take a few hens all at once, not one at a time. Also they have never been able to get into the run, only taking chickens when the door has been left open. The other possible candidates could be crows, rats, stoats, next door's feral cats, or possibly but unlikely - a mink. What would eat half a bantam?

[PaulineM]

Hi
No expert here but it does sound like it could be crows or magpie type predator 
I think birds like these would eat the inners and leave the chicks 
Is the top of your run open, if so you could try and put some netting over it. (Sorry if i'm trying to teach a granny to suck eggs here!)
Good luck anyway

[pandora]

I was wondering if it could be crows (no magpies around here.) The run is open topped, but then again it is just over half an acre in size so could be a bit of a problem covering it! My birds used to be free range but Mrs Fox caused me to curtail their freedom, and the huge run is the next best thing. Seems I may have to rethink letting them have even that amount of space.

[bantam novice]

Do you have birds of prey such as buzzards or hawks around?  That is the way I was thinking; however I should have thought an airborne raid would have raised the alarm with your other ducks and hens...hmmm one for Sherlock Holmes!

[tedsdad]

Are you using chick size mesh?If you are and nothing's dug underneath it's a bird,suspect sparrowhawk,crows magpies etc usually eat carrion so if you see them there they may just be finishing things off.If you've got ordinary chicken wire,then suspect stoat or weasel we used to have a lot of probs with a stoat until my patterdale (aka The Dark Avenger) caught and ate  it.

[arugula]

What would eat half a bantam?

A fox can do this kind of damage, that just looks like wanton destruction, for the sake of it - could be a youngster. A fox can also go in over the top, for that reason we roofed our run. Or it could be a bird, with no digging apparent it is less likely to be mink etc.

[evie2]

Our ferrets used to climb up the mesh and across the top of there run, do you think mink etc would do the same?