lost 8 last night. 17 in 2 1/2 months.

[sixofus09]

First it was a hawk every 3 days taking 1 or 2 depending on size. I fixed that problem with a net covering. Then something took 5 in 2 days, so I rebuild the whole run with fencing on the ground altogether with zipties,wire,and staples. I chicken wired the windows. There didn't appear to be any holes :-\\ until I looked up at the gable vent area. Then I was like no way. So ill cover those and see what happens. At this rate ill never have eggs :'(

 

[ninabeast]

My heart goes out to you, really. I can't even imagine. I've been so lucky so far (I'm waiting for eggs, too), but I live in dread of a predator problem...I hope this ifxes it.

 

[bryan99705]

Clean out your coop and see if a rat or other critter has gnawed a hole thru a wall or the the floor.

 

[bobbi-j]

You might want to replace the chicken wire on the windows with hardware cloth (1/2"), and put that on the vent area, too. A coon will rip right through chicken wire.

 

[shareverwonder]

I've lost 2 chickens and 1 turkey to racoons this year. They sure do rip right through chicken wire. It's so frustrating.

 

[ginormous chicken]

I've lost over a dozen this spring chick season. I know what you are going through. Don't despair. Keep trying, put hardware cloth in instead. See if that helps.

 

[Yoda]

I use the scarecrow sprinkler system and so far knock on wood no predators. I turn it off during the day cause any motion sets it off, but it is on at night. The fox has not been around since. Good luck with your birds.

 

[sixofus09]

I rebuild the coop last weekend after the mass murders. I have a few guesses. The animal has to be a climber. Ate 5 whole. Took the heads off 3. My guess is a coon. My daughter and wife are so upset. My boys just want more choices of breeds. We hdve had the variety.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Sorry about your chickens. Almost everyone has been there. I thought daytime was safe to let them out. Wrong. Hawks and black vultures, even foxes will nab them during the day. It's a jungle out there.

 

[Gladiator]

When you have predators, you have to think about all the possibilities. I lost 3 six week old chicks this year to a very clever fox. I knew he was coming around, and he had never been able to get trouhg the chicken wire until he figured that a small section on top of the 4 feet tall cage, had biger holds because there was no chicken wire there. He jumped on top of the cage, and as the chicken started to fly around and got near the top, he got them.