2 Dead, 1 Injured -Please Help

[CreativeCowgirl]

I have been having a lot of problems with predators over the past few days. On two different days, a chicken decided to fly over the 5' chain link fence into the dog yard. One of them was killed, one injured. Another one today was killed and mostly eaten inside the chicken yard by what I suspect was a cat that has been lurking around. It was during the daytime, and must have climbed one of the nearby trees to get over the 5' fence(on the three sides of the chicken yard not adjoining the dog yard, it is fenced with 5' tall 2"x 4" welded wire fencing). What can I do about this? I know to keep the chickens out of the dog yard I will clip their wings and add some chicken wire to the top of the chain link fence to make it higher and more wobbly on top so that hopefully they won't want to perch on it. Does that sound like it would work? Also, what in the world do I do about a cat? I don't know whether it is someone's pet that got loose, or a feral cat. I really want to trap it and send it to the pound (or just shoot it

!) Or could it have been eaten by something else? It was during the daytime so I'm really not sure what else could have done it. Any help would be appreciated! These are my first chickens so I'm still very new at all this!

 

[jenifry]

I have a 6' chain link, and never have had a chicken go over it. I clipped their wings when I first got them, and they have never attempted to fly it again, even though they have all re-feathered. I'm relatively new at it, but my cat doesn't bother my chickens, so I might lean toward it being either a feral cat, or something else. Do you have predator birds, like hawks? or maybe a mink or weasel?

 

[CreativeCowgirl]

I'm pretty sure it was the cat. I've been told that a hawk will just carry the chicken away (and mine are only ten weeks old, so still small enough) and I don't live far out enough in the country to have weasels I hope. I am hoping to borrow a live trap from someone to help me catch and dispose of the cat, but I don't know what to do with the birds in the meantime. Should I even let them out of the coop with that cat still loose? I don't want another one of my babies to get eaten....What should I do?

 

[jenifry]

My dad got a weasel, and he lives darn near in town, and also foxes, and even a coyote. I wouldn't discount a predator just because you live near town. I would suggest just keeping an eye on them when you can. Chickens aren't easy. My bff had loggers STEALING hers and she lives literally in the middle of NOWHERE.