Hi!

I recently started raising chickens in my backyard in Austin, Texas. I have raised chickens living in the country but have never had a problem like this.

I have 6 chickens that are almost 2 months old. They reside primarily in a large, heavy, and now immobile chicken tractor (8'x4'x4'). The entire tractor is covered in chicken wire and a large tarp also covers the back half of the tractor to prevent predators from reaching in. It has a sturdy roof.

I went out of town for 1 day/night during which my chickens stayed by themselves secured in the tractor. When I came home I found that two of my chickens were each missing a wing. It looked as if they had been torn off and their bone is now protruding slightly from their body.

There is no evidence of anything getting into the tractor at all - nothing broken and no digging. I also live in the middle of the city. We do not have many predators. No dog could get into our yard. I haven't seen any stray cats lately and I am not sure how they would attack a chicken. I have never seen a raccoon or an opossum in this area. Would they attack like that?

I can't figure out what got the chickens and how to prevent this in the future. Please let me know if you have any ideas. Thank you for the help!

Brooke