6 dead chicks...only gizzards neatly left

[98cwitr]

My first thought was cat as well. But how would the cat get in?

Are you sure there are no holes? Not just fence holes, but ground holes/tunnels. Maybe a rodent.

Yeah that's plausible. A rat could fit through the wire. I'll look for holes, but no dig marks around the edge of the pen. There is one spot in the top coverd section where a cat could get in, but I'm having a hard time conceptualizing it getting out!

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

Could a raccoon have reached in? How wide is the wire? I'm sorry for your loss chicks are very vulnerable

 

[98cwitr]

Could a raccoon have reached in? How wide is the wire? I'm sorry for your loss chicks are very vulnerable

Wire is less than an inch at any given spot. Scene of the crime was in the near center of the pen (ground floor, not the coop itself). Whatever it was...it was inside.

I need to build a front door on the coop portion and lock them in, but should I even go further and bring them into the garage at night until they get bigger?

 

[NatJ]

Is it possible you have a two legged predator?

If you mean a human, I can't think why a person would leave the gizzards. That would mean they killed the chicks, took out the gizzards to leave, and then carried the rest of each dead chick away with them.

I think a person is much more likely to take the whole chick and leave quickly. Even if they want to kill & butcher it, they are more likely to do that later, in a place where they are less likely to be seen.

(A later post mentions some wings were left as well, buried in the hay: another thing that points to an animal rather than a human.)

 

[RoyalChick]

I am thinking rats. They wouldn't attack a grown hen, but a little baby they would kill for sure.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I'm so sorry for your loss! Please give your children extra hugs and time with them.

But Yes, please DO lock them inside at night. They'll need something like Fort Knox to keep them safe from rats, cats, snakes, raccoons, weasels/mink/fisher cats, opossums, neighbors' dogs, hawks, owls, eagles, coyotes... whatever hunts your neighborhood. 1-inch wire won't keep much out. Chicken wire is too flimsy. Most people are using 1/4-inch or 1/2-inch hardware cloth to build pens, and lock their birds (chicks or grown chickens) inside a sturdy, fully enclosed coop at night. (Except for some in hot southern climates, where an open-air coop is more common; but even that structure is fortified.)

 

[Roostergirl76]

Hello and I wish I could say it's good to be here, but I just lost 6 of my chicks and my poor children are heartbroken. The rest of the internet didn't seem to help, so here I am. I'm in NC, and we have our share of hawks, foxes, raccoons, snakes, etc that pose a threat to backyard chickens. So I reinforced the cage and coop the best my budget would allow. Top covered with wire to keep the birds of prey out. Woke up this morning after a single day with new chicks and they were not to be found. No sign of forced entry or disturbed fencing. Upon further inspection, I found 5 of 6 gizzards neatly left. No feathers or other body parts remained. There was a little blood on some hay, which was cold but had not dried, so they were probably all killed between 3 and 5AM. The gizzards were left exactly where they all were last night before we went in for the night. I'd just like some ideas of what kind of predator I'm dealing with. I'll lock the next flock up in the coop next time and set up a IR cam to keep an eye on them. What do y'all think did it?

Definitely cat I bet my life on it

 

[NatJ]

Most people are using 1/4-inch hardware cloth to build pens,

Possible typo?
I see 1/2 inch hardware cloth recommended much more often than 1/4."
The holes are a bit bigger, but still small enough to keep out most things, and the individual wires are enough bigger and stronger that it holds up better to larger predators.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Possible typo?
I see 1/2 inch hardware cloth recommended much more often than 1/4."
The holes are a bit bigger, but still small enough to keep out most things, and the individual wires are enough bigger and stronger that it holds up better to larger predators.

No typo, just my ignorance. I've edited my post to include 1/2-inch.
I use 1/4-inch wherever possible for the extra strength and durability - but I agree, 1/2-inch would likely be stout enough to keep all but insects out.

 

[Rurumo]

No typo, just my ignorance. I've edited my post to include 1/2-inch.
I use 1/4-inch wherever possible for the extra strength and durability - but I agree, 1/2-inch would likely be stout enough to keep all but insects out.

1/4 inch hardware cloth is significantly weaker at 23 gauge than 1/2 inch cloth which is typically 19 gauge, just to be clear for others reading this-1/2 inch hardware cloth is more durable than 1/4. Though either would probably work just fine.