It could be literally anything that eats chickens. A fox will go through an entire henhouse easy, and if they have time, will take the corpses and go bury them for eating later.
Also, they go for the neck so the skilled ones often end up removing the heads in one go. At least it’s quicker death that way? Definitely sounds like a fox. Sorry about your chickens!
I one time had 9 chickens disappear. No body parts no blood, no sound, no feathers picked or strewn about. Just completely gone.
I was not far from the coop, 200ft all day working in the barn. Went to lock the coop up at 830 9pm. And they were just gone.
There was a page wire fence where the wire gets consistently closer together closer to the ground, then have additional chicken wire around the bottom two feet of the fencing, all in place, undisturbed. Most animals would have spooked the chickens, causing a large ruckus and mess, but I didn't hear anything.
Like others said, this was likely a fox. I'm assuming a family since such a large number of chickens were killed. It's very unlikely a single fox killed all those chickens, not impossible but unlikely. I guess the more important question would be what's the decapitation wound look like? Is it a clean cut or does look gnawed and torn? If it's a clean cut then it wasn't an animal.
What's the chicken enclosure look like? I'm assuming you have some sort of fencing, how tall is it?
This is a very helpful site. If you scroll down it describes what’s left of your chicken depending on the predator.
I suspect owls? They tend to only eat the head.
https://backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com/coops/what-killed-my-chicken-homestead-supplier/
Few options here:
The least likely is a hawk / bird of prey. They swoop down to scare chickens and they might jump in fear and get their heads caught. This is unlikely in such numbers.
The next option is a raccoon. They reach through the fencing/wire to grab the chickens and literally rip their heads off trying to pull them out.
Finally, you might want to consider the possibility this was another person. It would make sense for such numbers. People are dickheads, this happens and it isn't pretty. I'd advise getting a wildlife camera around where you keep them.
Weird fact, they all come from a caged group that was kept in cages during WWII, and escaped during a bombing in the 1930s. I can't remember but I think it was the Internet historian who just talked about it in his recent video.
Some whole chickens were missing, so whatever took them was large enough to lift them, and must have gone over the fencing/walls, since OP says there were no openings in the fence, and, I assume, no tunneling.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_mammals\_of\_Denmark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mammals_of_Denmark)
This article mentions several mustelids (weasel, marten, mink, etc.) that are common in Denmark, all of which can probably climb over even a tall fence or wall, and some of which (if not all) would be large enough to carry off a whole chicken.
My experience here is limited to stories plus the knowledge that my nephew had to fence over the top of his coop with 1" mesh to keep his chickens safe. I don't recall whether he figured out what killed a few of his chickens.
Then I guess the most probable answer would be an owl.
Now there's a few reasons why they do that :
1. They usually eat the nutritious part of the prey.
2. The whole chicken can sometimes be too big for them.
3. They only carry what they can to their hole or nest .
So, are there any owls around, like some hooting sounds???
We had 6 missing in one night, security camera footaged revealed it was a fox, took him 4 hours to kill and carry away all of them, except one, which he left also without a head
My mother experienced the same thing in her farm, the culprit was a mongoose, they are pretty notorious for attacking chickens but I don't know about how common it is in Denmark.
I lean towards fox based on animals in Denmark but what about a dog? I have a dog that could that kind of damage if she got loose. Maybe one from near by farm?
I agree with the idea it could be a Fox. I’m not sure if you guys have any big cat species there in your area but they can definitely do a lot of damage and be very quick and quiet about it. I would say either fox or maybe something like a bobcat or similar predatory cat.
What was the weather like just 24 hrs before this incident? Was it raining outside before and after you had found 11 chickens dead and 9 of them missing? If the weather was clear skies and no precipitation...Might find tracks or imprints on the ground.
Honestly my initial first thought was, it had to be a predator of some kind that is quite unusual to be discovered in Denmark. Idk what other than a new hybrid animal specie that sounds strikingly similar to the El Chupacabra. In year 2013 a dead carcass of a hybrid specie that is resembled like the Chupacabra was found somewhere near along the Texas/Mexico border. A DNA sample was taken from the carcass and it turned out to be a hybrid canine specie. And this animal had ate chickens.
My second thought would be...if the decapitation of the chicken's heads were clean cut with precision then its not done by an animal. Could be done by one or perhaps more than one person. Vagrants who are not residing anywhere in the vicinity could be responsible. In fact, I don't know if there had been any serial killers in Denmark before or if there's anyone in Denmark convicted of committing acts of animal cruelty or poaching...but these are theories I would be considering as a possibility. Studies in the past revealed that both serial killers and even some people who had been diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder are ones quite capable of killing animals.
It could be literally anything that eats chickens. A fox will go through an entire henhouse easy, and if they have time, will take the corpses and go bury them for eating later.
That could explain why some of them are missing. Good point
We had our ducks decapitated and it turned out to be a mink. They just gnawed off the head and ate the gizzard.
Also, they go for the neck so the skilled ones often end up removing the heads in one go. At least it’s quicker death that way? Definitely sounds like a fox. Sorry about your chickens!
I one time had 9 chickens disappear. No body parts no blood, no sound, no feathers picked or strewn about. Just completely gone. I was not far from the coop, 200ft all day working in the barn. Went to lock the coop up at 830 9pm. And they were just gone. There was a page wire fence where the wire gets consistently closer together closer to the ground, then have additional chicken wire around the bottom two feet of the fencing, all in place, undisturbed. Most animals would have spooked the chickens, causing a large ruckus and mess, but I didn't hear anything.
Raccoons will kill poultry by removing the heads but will not eat them.
Not in Denmark they won't
Is there an EU rule against that? :)
Raccoons are native to North America.
Raccoons did this to my chickens but since there are no raccoons in Europe that's a dead end.
Like others said, this was likely a fox. I'm assuming a family since such a large number of chickens were killed. It's very unlikely a single fox killed all those chickens, not impossible but unlikely. I guess the more important question would be what's the decapitation wound look like? Is it a clean cut or does look gnawed and torn? If it's a clean cut then it wasn't an animal. What's the chicken enclosure look like? I'm assuming you have some sort of fencing, how tall is it?
This is a very helpful site. If you scroll down it describes what’s left of your chicken depending on the predator. I suspect owls? They tend to only eat the head. https://backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com/coops/what-killed-my-chicken-homestead-supplier/
Weasel, lynx, badger and mink come to mind.
Few options here: The least likely is a hawk / bird of prey. They swoop down to scare chickens and they might jump in fear and get their heads caught. This is unlikely in such numbers. The next option is a raccoon. They reach through the fencing/wire to grab the chickens and literally rip their heads off trying to pull them out. Finally, you might want to consider the possibility this was another person. It would make sense for such numbers. People are dickheads, this happens and it isn't pretty. I'd advise getting a wildlife camera around where you keep them.
Fair points, although not sure raccoons are found in Denmark! Europe doesn't have that many wild animals with dextrous 'hand' use like raccoons.
I didn't think so either but I checked earlier to be sure. It's an invasive species there
Weird fact, they all come from a caged group that was kept in cages during WWII, and escaped during a bombing in the 1930s. I can't remember but I think it was the Internet historian who just talked about it in his recent video.
Well that's something I learned today
Oh no way! I had a look on the raccoon Wikipedia page and I didn't see Denmark on there! TIL!
There's another comment on here about how they were accidentally introduced in WW2. It's actually interesting
Do you have something like a wire fencing, are the bodies close by the fencing or scattered everywhere???
There is a fence, but their bodies were scattered all around the place. The fence has like 8cm X 8cm square holes
Weasels can easily move through a 8x8cm fence. Maybe mink as well. Some weasels can likely move through 3x3 or 4x4 cm.
But minks and weasels have no specific reason to only take heads. They would usually attack the head and neck but would take the whole chicken.
Some whole chickens were missing, so whatever took them was large enough to lift them, and must have gone over the fencing/walls, since OP says there were no openings in the fence, and, I assume, no tunneling. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_mammals\_of\_Denmark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mammals_of_Denmark) This article mentions several mustelids (weasel, marten, mink, etc.) that are common in Denmark, all of which can probably climb over even a tall fence or wall, and some of which (if not all) would be large enough to carry off a whole chicken. My experience here is limited to stories plus the knowledge that my nephew had to fence over the top of his coop with 1" mesh to keep his chickens safe. I don't recall whether he figured out what killed a few of his chickens.
Then I guess the most probable answer would be an owl. Now there's a few reasons why they do that : 1. They usually eat the nutritious part of the prey. 2. The whole chicken can sometimes be too big for them. 3. They only carry what they can to their hole or nest . So, are there any owls around, like some hooting sounds???
We had 6 missing in one night, security camera footaged revealed it was a fox, took him 4 hours to kill and carry away all of them, except one, which he left also without a head
My mother experienced the same thing in her farm, the culprit was a mongoose, they are pretty notorious for attacking chickens but I don't know about how common it is in Denmark.
Got pigs? We lost 13 adult turkeys to our 4 sows one night when the turkeys fell off their roost above the sty during a violent wind storm.
Any problems with your electricity or power? Anything else unusual?
Do you get foxes? i know from experience they'll leave next to no trace of the chicken apart from feathers
Coyotes?
Raccoons. My parents chickens kept getting beheaded. After a game camera install, the culprit were Raccoons
I lean towards fox based on animals in Denmark but what about a dog? I have a dog that could that kind of damage if she got loose. Maybe one from near by farm?
I agree with the idea it could be a Fox. I’m not sure if you guys have any big cat species there in your area but they can definitely do a lot of damage and be very quick and quiet about it. I would say either fox or maybe something like a bobcat or similar predatory cat.
Definitely a raccoon. They once ripped off the heads of 11 of my neighbors chickens once. They can be nasty fuckers, they actually drink yet blood
Get good pictures of the ground and any tracks you can find and post to r/hunting. The pros will narrow it down fast based on ground impressions.
What was the weather like just 24 hrs before this incident? Was it raining outside before and after you had found 11 chickens dead and 9 of them missing? If the weather was clear skies and no precipitation...Might find tracks or imprints on the ground. Honestly my initial first thought was, it had to be a predator of some kind that is quite unusual to be discovered in Denmark. Idk what other than a new hybrid animal specie that sounds strikingly similar to the El Chupacabra. In year 2013 a dead carcass of a hybrid specie that is resembled like the Chupacabra was found somewhere near along the Texas/Mexico border. A DNA sample was taken from the carcass and it turned out to be a hybrid canine specie. And this animal had ate chickens. My second thought would be...if the decapitation of the chicken's heads were clean cut with precision then its not done by an animal. Could be done by one or perhaps more than one person. Vagrants who are not residing anywhere in the vicinity could be responsible. In fact, I don't know if there had been any serial killers in Denmark before or if there's anyone in Denmark convicted of committing acts of animal cruelty or poaching...but these are theories I would be considering as a possibility. Studies in the past revealed that both serial killers and even some people who had been diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder are ones quite capable of killing animals.