what attacks chickens in their pen
Which parts are missing from a dead bird can help you identify the culprit. A chicken found next to a fence or in a pen with its head missing was likely the victim of a raccoon that reached in, grabbed the bird, and pulled its head through the wire. When you find a bird dead inside a chicken pen and run (or a coop, for that matter) with its head and crop missing, your visitor was a raccoon. If the head and back of the neck are missing, suspect a weasel or mink.