Best and worst Roosters?

[donrae]

Thank you. It was tough losing so many birds, and many of my favorites. (23 total lost) I have lined up hatching eggs for this spring, but have not started rebuilding my flocks yet.

I'd missed that. So sorry!

 

[drumstick diva]

Mary do you still have Audan?

 

[AgCrazy]

That must have been devastating to lose them in such a manner. This is no comparasion but I do has some sense of what it must have been like. When we sold our place and bought land I had to sell all my livestock because we would not have time to build their housing as winter was coming on and we are in a heavy preditor area, i.e. wolf, cougar and grizzlies. I had my flock just the way I wanted them and they were beautiful. I hated letting them go but it was best for them.Now I am starting all over again too.
The bright side of this for both of us is that we can avoid any mistakes we made before and get to choose our new flocks from experience to get just want we are looking for.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote: Thank you.

That must have been devastating to lose them in such a manner. This is no comparasion but I do has some sense of what it must have been like. When we sold our place and bought land I had to sell all my livestock because we would not have time to build their housing as winter was coming on and we are in a heavy preditor area, i.e. wolf, cougar and grizzlies. I had my flock just the way I wanted them and they were beautiful. I hated letting them go but it was best for them.Now I am starting all over again too.
The bright side of this for both of us is that we can avoid any mistakes we made before and get to choose our new flocks from experience to get just want we are looking for.

Yes. I came home to find 15 dead in one day. (one more died from her injuries the next day) Just broken necks, it didn't even eat them. It took quite a while to find out what it was. I saw the critter twice, and my dog chased it, but it was so fast your eyes could not even focus on it. And it was small, like chihuahua sized. (I was thinking weasel because I couldn't figure anything else that would be that fast) I had a baited trap...........and caught nothing. Even baited it with my dead barnevelder male. Nothing.

The last attack in December was my Welsummer male in my other coop/run. I put him in the cage and caught a juvenile bobcat. A friend, who is a wildlife biologist, told me we don't have weasels here and thought it was a mother bobcat teaching her young to hunt.

I now have a trail camera installed, and so far, I have not had any further attacks.

So it really must have been a mother bobcat teaching it's young to hunt. My Barnevelder male was easily 5 times the size of the young critter.

I've had this coop and run for 6 years without any predator issue, aside from losing some babies to hawks in the beginning. It's a 6 foot non-climb fence with netting across the top. You can go YEARS without issue, and all it takes is one predator to figure it out. As you can see, my run is quite large. The coop is 8X12.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Wow, that's scary, I haven't seen any bobcat around here, but my husband says they are. I'm sorry too, that is devastating to lose so many.

 

[AgCrazy]

How did the invader get in? Bobcats won't usually dig under a fence but they can climb or even jump a 6' fence. Articles I have read indicate the behavior you described as fox or coyote. Fox would have the size and speed you witnessed. Bobcats are generally more bulky and even though they are fast not as spry. My daughter lives in Northern California. It could be any of the three in that region but most likely fox. It is good to narrow it down to know how better to deal with it. It willl come back when you restock. It would be nice to be prepared. I have not had any problems here at our new homestead. But at our old place something got two of my favorite hens and only ate their heads. I blamed my dog even though he had never harmed anything before.My husband said it wasn't our dog, it was a racoon. It would climb over the fence even with our dog present in broad daylight. He was huge.Here at the new place we have a setup more like yours. Much safer, with an electric wire around the base, middle and top...more to deter moose and bear. We also ran a 2' strip of tough deer fencing along 1' of the base of the fence and the other foot of material laying on the ground and covered with small rock, of which we have more than enough. The only thing that might get one of our girls would be a hawk. We look them up at night so they are safe from small critters like weasals, or night predators like owls. Our run is 15' x 80' so it is hard to cover the top...bird netting would not stand up to the snow.I don't if it is but maybe some of this brings comfort.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I saw it run right up the fence (not the post, but the fence), slip under the netting and run down the other side. The bobcat in my trap also was witnessed climbing the fence in my welsummer run. (that run is not covered because it's my fruit orchard) They did not dig, nor was there any breach in my fencing. Since it was attacking during the day (3-5pm) it was getting them in the run. My coop is super secure, and the siding is concrete, so nothing can climb it.

It really perplexed me too. It took a while to discover what critter was responsible.

Raccoons and owls will take heads and leave the bodies.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Wow, that's scary, I haven't seen any bobcat around here, but my husband says they are. I'm sorry too, that is devastating to lose so many.

I was told by the Wildlife biologist that once a bobcat finds food, it will continue to come back until there is no food left. And yes, they are scary. It was growling at me just taking it's picture.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I was told by the Wildlife biologist that once a bobcat finds food, it will continue to come back until there is no food left.  And yes, they are scary.  It was growling at me just taking it's picture.

I think my donkeys keep them at bay. I have seen them cross the field to chase off feral cats.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I think my donkeys keep them at bay. I have seen them cross the field to chase off feral cats.

Good donkeys!