What attacked my coop??

This morning I woke to 10 chickens 2 roosters and a duck missing. Our coop door was left open accidentally, and though this has happened before our dog regularly patrols the coop and we've never experienced any predator issues (we've been lucky, a rookie mistake we'll never make again). But today I've counted 9 different patches of feathers and various places all over my yard, to include one of my roosters...I'm very distraught about it...what kind of animal could successfully run off with 10 chickens 2 roosters and a duck?!?!? No sign of blood or body parts...just feathers.

That many can only mean a wild K9 or possibly a wild cat of some type.

But it is difficult to really know unless we know your location.

With that many I would bet on a fox. They kill everything they can quickly, then carry them off 1 at a time and hide them. If you find a feather trail, you may be able to follow it to hidden remains.

I'm in mid Missouri, my husband thinks a pack of coyotes...but I've heard others mention fox, bobcat, or wandering dogs. I'm just so upset because I had 16 birds total, and in a short period of time I've been left with 3... I never knew an animal could ever do so much damage so quickly

One fox or even one dog can wipe out as many as 60 birds in less than 1/2 hour and that's if they have to chase each one down.

Dogs don't carry them off, Foxes do and so would coyotes. Check for foot prints in and around the area, that will tell you which critter it was that had your chooks and duck for dinner. Coyotes are pack animals for the most part if one comes, the rest of the pack is not far away. Foxes are usually lone hunters and I have observed males carry off up to three birds at one time. If it is a vixen, it could be that she has cubs and brought them with her.

I share my sadness with you Bertie. :'( I lost three girls and I have one that was severely injured and in a state of shock on Sunday.I'm pretty sure my issue is a pair of fox that seem to have a den about a mile away. I'm going to buy or borrow a live trap. I don't want to loose anymore girls.

So sad, I am reading this thread as I try to educate myself on what's been killing our quail and how to keep our turkeys and chickens safe. Seems as though this is a common problem from a variety predators. What draws predators in? Scent of the droppings? The noise of the birds? Is there a way to "camoflage" these scents to minimize attracting predators?

Sad to read about your chickens.

Most predators have a sense of smell at least 150 times better than humans, for many animals it is scent that they become aware of first.
There is no way to totally mask the scent of prey animals, but you can add some confusion to the odiferous air waves.
If you were to plant barrier rings of things like marigolds, garlic, onions, or other strongly scented plants that are known to deter animals (deer for example) then you might find that predators are less willing to get close enough to become a problem.

Dogs are a fairly good way to add a scent trail that will deter some of the predator animals.
Apparently Raccoons are an exception, since we have one that comes into our yard (which has dog scent all over it) to eat any left over dog food. (found this out by using a game camera). Now if the Dogs are outside, they will usually attack any wild predator that tries to come into their territory. So, you could put your chicken coop/run inside the dog's area (fenced so the dogs can't get in the coop/run) and that might be enough to keep the predators away.

In my experience, no matter what you do to try and keep them away, if there is the low risk, high reward element in play, the predator will not be deterred. Make it more high risk, low reward and then you have a fighting chance.

The best methods involve electric fencing, both high and low, with enough voltage/ amperage to instill fear in the predator who touches the hot wires. I have seen cases where the voltage/amperage was stepped up to the point that it fried the offending critter on the spot.

With our own list of predators missing only weasels and bears, we have been thinking about using hot wires at the top and bottom of our fencing (two or three at the bottom and one or two up top). I tend towards the aggressive side of the equation wanting about 220 volts at 3-5 amps for sure fire, OH- NO- YOU- DON'T! energizing of the hot wires.
Of course this means I also have to put up "Danger High Voltage" signs for two legged offenders, but I can do that.

Note: since it is the amperage that kills, it is possible to use 110 volts combined with large amperage to instantly stop any critter, even a bear. I have not noticed any two legs trying to act like a predator on our farm as yet, so I am all good with using a traditional 10-20 mile charger on any electric fencing we need to put up. The big trick to using hot wires is keeping them free of any plant materials that could render the wires ineffective.

One of my roosters crows a lot along with them free ranging up until the attack I think is why my flock was attacked. When we're home its not an issue with ground predators because I have two big dogs that will run off/down any threats and they let us know something is wrong out side even when they're inside with us.

Bryant Redhawk said:

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Click to expand...

Most predators have a sense of smell at least 150 times better than humans, for many animals it is scent that they become aware of first.
There is no way to totally mask the scent of prey animals, but you can add some confusion to the odiferous air waves. 
If you were to plant barrier rings of things like marigolds, garlic, onions, or other strongly scented plants that are known to deter animals (deer for example) then you might find that predators are less willing to get close enough to become a problem.

Dogs are a fairly good way to add a scent trail that will deter some of the predator animals. 
Apparently Raccoons are an exception, since we have one that comes into our yard (which has dog scent all over it) to eat any left over dog food. (found this out by using a game camera).  Now if the Dogs are outside, they will usually attack any wild predator that tries to come into their territory. So, you could put your chicken coop/run inside the dog's area (fenced so the dogs can't get in the coop/run) and that might be enough to keep the predators away.

In my experience, no matter what you do to try and keep them away, if there is the low risk, high reward element in play, the predator will not be deterred.  Make it more high risk, low reward and then you have a fighting chance. 

The best methods involve electric fencing, both high and low, with enough voltage/ amperage to instill fear in the predator who touches the hot wires.  I have seen cases where the voltage/amperage was stepped up to the point that it fried the offending critter on the spot.

With our own list of predators missing only weasels and bears, we have been thinking about using hot wires at the top and bottom of our fencing (two or three at the bottom and one or two up top). I tend towards the aggressive side of the equation wanting about 220 volts at 3-5 amps for sure fire, OH- NO- YOU- DON'T! energizing of the hot wires. 
Of course this means I also have to put up "Danger High Voltage" signs for two legged offenders, but I can do that. 

Note: since it is the amperage that kills, it is possible to use 110 volts combined with large amperage to instantly stop any critter, even a bear. I have not noticed any two legs trying to act like a predator on our farm as yet, so I am all good with using a traditional 10-20 mile charger on any electric fencing we need to put up. The big trick to using hot wires is keeping them free of any plant materials that could render the wires ineffective.
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Thanks for all the info and advice! I had no idea these predators could do so much damage! It's just my rookie ignorance. We do have a dog and he used to patrol the coop all the time, he is so good with our birds, but he's recently become hard of hearing and his age is catching up to the poor guy. We'll be investing in a pup soon, hoping our old guy can teach the new pup the ropes. Our coop is close to our garden so my husband and I are constantly around the coop, but a few days before the attack I had been out of town and my husband hurt his back and hadn't been outside...Add our noisey rooster to the mix and our chattering ducks and the stars aligned perfectly for this attack. Lessons learn and hopefully we can set up traps and surveillance to catch and learn more about these predators.