Feral cats a big risk to hens

A few weeks ago on this page I mentioned the mysterious slaughter of my hens, writes Dick Warner

Some unknown predator was arriving in the night and killing one of the birds, often decapitating it and making off with the head. Because my hen run and hen house are very well protected and the predator couldn’t remove the whole body of the hen I assumed it was something very small and suspected a stoat.

One morning I went out and the last hen was dead. The body had been dragged into a corner of the run, and once again, the head was missing. However, as I walked up to remove the body for burial the mysterious predator returned for a second helping. It wasn’t a stoat it was a large tabby cat.