A Careless Mistake

[JimyCrakKorn]

I spent around $1000 and off and on about two months getting ready for my wife and me to begin raising the chickens she had been talking about for years. What began as a chore soon became a labor of love. Then a competition of us vs. them (predators). The pen is 20'x8'x6' built with 4x4 posts buried 2 ft in the ground and spaced every 6 ft on the sides. 1/2 inch 19 gauge hardware cloth on all sides and buried in a 2 ft trench and back-filled, check. The pen's top is covered with chicken wire and a woven shade cloth for protection from the sun as well as flying predators. Let's see, the pen is located about 200 ft behind the house inside a 100' x 100' run of 4 ft chain link. The coop is a converted 6' x 4' x 4' dog house with shingles on top. My girls will be safe in here. They range during the day inside the run and locked in the pen at night as they sleep in the coop.

We live in a neighborhood but have 2 1/2 acres completely surrounded by woods. The biggest threat we've faced in the past has been to my wife's hostas from the herd of deer that roams. Now, we have a real threat.

This morning, my wife who went to let the girls, 3 Wyandottes , a partridge (Ruby) and 2 silver-laced (Charlotte and Scarlet) and 2 white Brahamas (Jasmine and Georgia) into the run came rushing into the house and said "Something got them." Something had indeed gotten Ruby, Scarlet and Jasmine.

The evidence was in the run with white feathers. We didn't see any other signs in the run and after searching the surrounding woods, saw nothing. Then I happened across the feathers in the backyard that seemed to trail into the woods.

What happened was a brief summer storm at around 7 pm forced the girls into the pen with the door propped open. The storm lasted about 10 minutes and as it was still light outside, my wife decided to let them stay out until I got home. I was late getting in and after a very hot day and a nice shower it was around 10:00 pm. She remembered then that she hadn't locked the door to the pen and immediately went to do so. It's not necessary to carry a flashlight to lock it up and here's the mistake. She thought the girls were in the coop. They weren't.

We are both crushed this morning, she is feeling so badly. We raised our first flock from 2 day old chicks watching them learn and chase each other for the worm to 8 week old young ladies roosting on homemade perches.

I will close this thread entry by saying a very hard lesson was learned. The smallest assumption can lead to the gravest mistake.

This forum was exactly what I needed since I read what others have gone through. We have 2 girls left and 4 baby cochins - 3 weeks old next Tuesday, to care for. We will never make that mistake again.

BTW, it was a fox, I'm sure. I did find fresh droppings in the woods. He got one in the run, the other two went over the chain link into the yard; one was gotten there and I suspect the third was scared into the woods and gotten there, although I couldn't find any feathers.

 

[somadlyinlove]

Sorry for your loss. Most of us have learned a few of these lessons the hard way. And even when you are extremely careful things happen, I lost my favorite bantam when a hawk scooped her up right before my eyes in broad daylight.

 

[tadpole98]

aww im sorry i know how this feels, once had somethng come in and take 40 of my babies (((

 

[Stephanie739]

I'm sorry. I know it is so sad when something like this happens.

 

[JimyCrakKorn]

Thank you for your compassion. I can only imagine what seeing something like that must have felt like.

 

[bwalden]

Sorry for your loss. It really sticks to spend all the time, effort and money into getting your flock going to have something like that happen. I've been fighting my own battle over the last few months with a group of unclaimed neighborhood dogs running around. Killed 10 of mine in one night a month or so back. I've since installed heavy duty gate and coop locks and an electric fence around the entire run. So far so good. I haven't had any more deaths or even what looks like an attempted break in by a dog and anything else. I just totally under estimated these dogs. I wont make that mistake twice. If you think it's secure enough, double it! The heavier the locks and latches the better in my opinion.

 

[JimyCrakKorn]

That was an all out attack, it sounds like. We were just going to have a small flock maybe 10. With the babies, we now have 6. I think we will wait until next year to add to this one.

 

[JimyCrakKorn]

We really don't have a dog problem. Hawks yes. A coon or two last year, and now a fox. I expect him to come back tonight and I'll be ready. I know the girls will be fine as long as they are in the pen and coop. But with the babies getting bigger and joining the girls in a week or so, we will be keeping a close eye on em.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[sourland]

Sorry for your loss, and good luck in eliminating the problem.

 

[JimyCrakKorn]

It's been almost almost 3 weeks since the attack and there have been some developments. First, I was mistaken. It was not a fox but coons. They came back the next night and found a weak spot in the pen and murdered the remaining two. It has taken me this long to get over the sight of walking up to the pen and seeing feathers again, but this time inside the pen. One was 90% eaten and the other was just headless. I buried them and cleaned the pen in silence. The coon had left his mark in my mind like nothing had before. I thought they were safe and had it been a fox, they would have been.

I bagged the debris and that night waited from midnight to 6 am with a .22 rifle and flashlight. Nothing came. I ordered a trap and 4 days later began setting it inside the run. They cleaned the bait the first night but the second night, the have-a-heart trap did its job. A coon weighing about 8 to 10 lbs watched as I pointed my finger and growled, "I got you, you...!", along with other expressions of relief, anger and an overwhelming sense of a tearful, it ain't enough to cover the pain and heartache at what he did, feeling. Now I know some reading this will be thinking, "The coon was just doing what coons do," and I agree. But this was a murdering varmit that came back the second night, not because he was hungry, he ate three the night before, but to just kill. I had 4 three week old babies that I was not going to let become the next victims. I had called the professionals and they wanted $550.00 to set traps for 2 weeks since they said if there was one there was likely to be more. I did what I had to do.

I found the weak spot, worked a couple of more days patching and in the meantime continued laying the trap; twice more, the bait was taken and I knew it wasn't over. The videos on youtube showed me what I was doing wrong. The coon was smart and was taking the bait, an opened can of fish in a very strong-smelling sauce and marshmallows scattered around and in the trap. He was pulling the bait through the cage wire. So I moved the trap to a different location, placed a metal garbage can on its side and slide the trap inside. It was too long to go completely inside the can but it was protected enough so the coon couldn't get the bait without going inside the trap. This worked, and I caught the second one. Take from this what you will but after seeing what I was up against, I am glad they are gone.

Its been a week now since the last signs and the trap has been baited but undisturbed. My wife and I both needed to see more chicks than the 4 cochins so we found a seller nearby that had chicks a week younger to add to our small flock. We now have 2 Reds, a Rock and an Americanna, Liberty to go along with the girls.

I will never again have the 100% confidence, as I once did, of knowing my girls are safe, nor will I ever get over the feeling of wondering what I may find when I am heading to see them each morning, but I know I have done all I can.

Thank you for reading my story. I hope it helps.