Arizona Chickens

[DesertChic]

@DesertChic

So yesterday I decided to move my little naked necks from their little brick enclosure into a bigger cage. Well, everything seemed to go great and they were super happy. But this morning, I woke up to see a dead chick laying out side the pen. So,I walked out there to go check it out. When I got closer, I saw the the the huge boulders by the door had been moved and a huge hole had been dug leading into the pen. It looked like a massacre inside. Feathers everywhere, and all 13 chicks gone. I walked around my property and found 3 other bodies. What could have done this?

Oh no! That's horrible!

As others have said, it could've been almost anything...dog, coyote, skunk. Predator proofing is an absolute necessity, and a constant battle.

 

[desertrocks]

Oh no! That's horrible!

As others have said, it could've been almost anything...dog, coyote, skunk. Predator proofing is an absolute necessity, and a constant battle. 

True predators generally will take their prey and go. Mass death is more often done by a canine because they seem to kill more for sport.

 

[BlueBaby]

@DesertChic

So yesterday I decided to move my little naked necks from their little brick enclosure into a bigger cage. Well, everything seemed to go great and they were super happy. But this morning, I woke up to see a dead chick laying out side the pen. So,I walked out there to go check it out. When I got closer, I saw the the the huge boulders by the door had been moved and a huge hole had been dug leading into the pen. It looked like a massacre inside. Feathers everywhere, and all 13 chicks gone. I walked around my property and found 3 other bodies. What could have done this?

Sorry to hear about the loss of your chicks. I would call animal control and have them pick up the stray.

 

[BlueBaby]

I have joined in for the Halloween hatch-a-long, and have just set 12 eggs this evening in my incubator. I hope that they are all fertile, and if so I will have all Blue Australorp baby chicks when they hatch on October 11th! They are from my Splash Australorp male over my Black Australorp hens. Is anyone else here going to join in with the Halloween hatch-a-long?

 

[azchickens14]

@DesertChic

So yesterday I decided to move my little naked necks from their little brick enclosure into a bigger cage. Well, everything seemed to go great and they were super happy. But this morning, I woke up to see a dead chick laying out side the pen. So,I walked out there to go check it out. When I got closer, I saw the the the huge boulders by the door had been moved and a huge hole had been dug leading into the pen. It looked like a massacre inside. Feathers everywhere, and all 13 chicks gone. I walked around my property and found 3 other bodies. What could have done this?

Im so sorry :'( In the middle picture i definitely see canid tracks, but not sure if it could be a dog or a coyote.

 

[twinsmom6]

I am so sorry for your loss ! One thing I learned out here is that chain link is large enough for paws to get through. we woke up one morning to 4 of our chickens decapitated but no entry into the coop at all. One of the girls had a big scratch across her beak. They sleep up against the fence on high perches and something reached in a pulled their sweet chicken heads off.

solution - we added chicken wire layer on the outside to reduce the size of the paws. Something to think about as well..

like I said they love the air flow and so get close to the chicken wire.

 

[twinsmom6]

the other thing we did .. cause of the hard ground we extended the chicken wire out about a foot and then covered it with pavers so they could not dig under without a very deep or long.
dogs in the yard also deter..

 

[Banaynaychicken]

Quote: Im so sorry for the loss of your NN's... if they were decapitated, you definitely have a raccoon problem. That is always the sign that a coon has been into your chicken coop. If thy were completley torn open, A stay cat or chihuahua got to them. I would keep a watch out, those stupid little criminals are everywhere. I reccomend lining the bottom of the coop with chicken wire,piling sand in it, and then putting a 2x4 border along the walls at the bottom and stapling the excess chicken wire to the wood to pevent any entry accept through the door.

That is a very large loss... I hope there are still some survivors wandering around the property.

I say take a night to sit and watch for the animal that did this.

If you bring out something similar, they will come back. try dove of even chicken nuggets, and then fire away.

If it is a menace to livestock, it is legal to shoot it. Propety Defense. Or if your us, Self and Family defense. Those chooks are family and coons need to learn they can't mess with our animals without paying the price.

 

[twinsmom6]

If you bury chicken wire be sure to bury it pretty deep .. chickens scratching can get little talons and feet injured .. they tend to scratch with reckless abandon. Out here in the baking southern Arizona heat we have bobcats that are likely too.... Don't give up on backyard chickening... chicken loss is awful and sad.... not sure I would set up a stake out and kill the perp.. cause there will always be more predators..

 

[Banaynaychicken]

We got a new African Goose at school, a rescue, and he has angel wings...

He doens't seem in pain, but he is constantly adjusting them, and accidentally slapping his den-mates in the face with them, to which they will bite the poor guy.

Id there any way to fix these? I want him to live a happy, comfotable life at our school, and those wings just need to be fixed.

if you dont know what it is, heres an African goose with similar symptoms