Dietary Question

[YoungBuck14]

ok i'm having another problem with some varmit killing my mama's chickens again. The last encounter ended with a dead coyote but this one has got me stumped. I'm not sure when the varmit in question is killing them but i'm guessing it is usually during the daytime hours. Our chickens are free range and this is what has gotten them caught so now they are being locked up. I have found the spots in the woods behind our house where serveral chickens have been eaten and they are nearly all at the base of mesquite trees with some sort of ground cover around them such as cactus or sticker bushes. Also around there spots i have found droppings of some animal. The droppings contain mostly skins and seeds from cactus apples, and some have a little hair. Do Bobcats or Coyotes eat cactus apples commonly?? So any help on what might be killing the chickens and hints on how to kill it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanx in advance and good hunting