The Drs kids left the door to their coop open
12 chickens killed, only 1 taken about 30 yards away and torn to shreds....the rest left intact.

What predator typically exhibits this CARNAGE ?

Very typical for any predator to overkill in a chicken coop or confined area.
The excitement & adrenalin keys their kill instinct.

Examining the kill closely may give some indication of 'who-done-it'.
It will be hard to name the culprit with door left opened.
I would start with the Doctor's Dog or Cat...

Have seen that many times with mink.

coons love chicken,so do fox and skunk,what access was their to the open door(high fence,etc.)look for tracks.you can bet their coming back.trail cam?cage trap?

with the door being open could be anything from hawk/owl to mink,coon,or fox.sounds like a terget of opportunity.

Mink, or coon maybe.. Mink are cyco killers, the first thing they wanna do is move it if possible..

Day or Night? This could possibly rule out a few critters. I’m going with coon.

I leaning towards a mink... sounds about the same thing that happen to my birds a few years back.

Talked to Doc



Night
No pets

Several heads ripped off too

soundin minky

Could be the neighbors from a mile away.

Neighbor's dog(s)

Look for fang marks on the skull, if present it's mink..

Put a good quality trail camera there facing the coop/door and you will likely get pictures of the culprit(s).

Dave

Head off= weasel of some type.

Or owl, they are famous for eating the head then working on the rest.

Owls and coons will remove chicken's heads.

Rickey

I am surprised that weasels can carry several times their weight as so many say. Most chickens weigh ~5 pounds and weasels weigh ounces.

From the description I would have gone with coon. The carry out almost eliminates dog, house cat and possum, imo, I think fox or coyote would have taken it more than 30 yards. I have never had a bobcat enter a building but guess it's possible, though they in my experience don't tear a chicken apart. Blind set foot holds should have caught the culprit by now, I'd think.

I think you can rule out smaller predators if that chicken was "ripped to shreds". Weasel will bore in to find the soft bits, but not eat much, nor make much of a mess. Mink won't eat much either. Wish there was some photo's. They would really help identify the culprit.

UPDATE::

Doc shot a 24 lb coon with his 308 2 nights ago.
It was hauling off chicken parts
Next night rest of chicken parts got gone
I told him it was probably the rest of the family.

I don't think he has caught anything in his cage trap yet, BUT, with chickens gone maybe the only choice at the buffet!

He lives too far for me to do much other than advise.