13 Slaughtered Birds

[micareli]

Woke up to 13 slaughtered birds...well 12, 1 broke her neck in the panic, ..... several had their heads gone, and some with their butts ate out..... What is it???

we have a a slit at top of door and bottom, I will repair those..... but we are not only sick but ******.... lost both Cinnamon Queen Roos, at least 1/2 of the Cinnamon Queens........

Any Ideas what predators hit us.... Mink.... Weasel,

 

[Nslangton]

That is terrible. I am so sorry for you. Minks and weasels are usually blood drinkers only going for the head and neck. They can both squeeze through a pretty small opening. How big are the openings by the door? Could a coon have gotten in? I am just not sure about the back ends being eaten or I would def. think mink or weasel. Hopefully you will get some other opinions.

 

[micareli]

the opening at the top is between 2 to 3 inches.... at the bottom about 1 inch........ when i saw the heads i thought of the mink or weasel,,,,, i suspect more weasel than not, but the bottoms.... unless the injuries occurred, then the others cannibalized her..... come to think of it only 1 had bottom injury so probably cannibalization.... Will fix the holes


i had thought about putting an animal trap out near coop.... but didn't wanna attract predators to the area

have you seen any kind of devices to send a warning alarm to chase off predators

 

[mmktdox]

We had a coon get in between the roof and walls and the space was no more than three inches. He got in twice before we realized what it was and we lost a total of 6 birds before we figured out that he was getting through that little space. We tried sealing it up with chicken wire and two days later realized something was pulling at it trying to get in. It's now blocked with 2x4's leaving 1/2 inch for ventilation. Stupid racoons. Block off that space with something good and solid, either wood or hardward cloth nailed in place. Good luck!

 

[PamelaTX]

Wow! A coon got in a space about 3 inches?? We have sooooo many coons around here...I'd better build my coop very, very tight. Yikes. So sorry to the original poster. It must have been horrible to find your birds like that. Good luck figuring things out. Let us know if you put it all together.

 

[bj taylor]

how rotten.

 

[micareli]

last night was first night post invasion... i had to run the poor things into the coop... after all that is supposed to be their safety zone..... I nailed blocks against the door frame and stoop to make it solid, i found an opening at the end of the rafters used a 2x4 block to seal it, ...last night was safe... we shall see what the future brings

 

[Doctor Gonzo]

Weasels are the worst. But, I have a trick that works for them, and may give you some satisfaction. Get an old glass jug. Bury it in the ground so none of it can be seen. Then find the best weasel bait you can, Pour it into the glass bottle. And then grease the neck as far in with vaseline as you can. The little bat rastard will go in, and not be able to get back out.

We used canned salmon. I remember being so angry about our chickens when I was a kid. And on the verge of a red fogged killing frenzy when the old man pulled the jug out and there was our killer. He got our ducks too. But he got his, and a few days later our barn cat brought in three weasel babies, all alive.....it was ugly.

 

[micareli]

so bury this jar near the coop or just on the property within a certain distance of the coop

 

[Doctor Gonzo]

Wherever you like. But since this creepy marmot is coming near the coup, I would say, put it nearby. It needs to have a VERY narrow neck. We used an old water bottle, a glass drinking water bottle. I would imagine 5gallons. I suppose a smaller one would do just as well.

Hatred is an inadequate word for those of us who have lost chickens to weasels. And I wish you all the best. Hope this works for you. But still batten down your coop as best you can. Search every nook and cranny as well.

Additionally, I would drench the inside of that bottle with a very thick oil, but make it something yummy. Weasels tend to worm into places using their necks which are very long. Bacon grease maybe. Let me know how this works out.

Good luck.