lost our flock to a mystery predator

[red3101]

Two birds went missing and the rest had no surface wounds but broken necks/legs. Some of the chicken wire was pulled up (we didn't know about hardware cloth being a better choice - we are completely redoing our coop and run set up, what we had came with the house we bought and the previous owner said that they had never had a predation problem) and we think that's how whatever it was got in.

We live in an suburban area, and I'm pretty sure there are no weasels/minks/foxes/coyotes/bears/large wild cats.

Our guess originally was a racoon, but I read that they usually leave carnage behind. What else could this have been?

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Dogs. Almost certainly.

 

[red3101]

What precautions should we take to prevent this from happening again?

I would have thought dogs would have left marks, which is why I discounted them to begin with.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Dogs kill to play. They probably grabbed the chickens, shook them like a chew toy (dislocating/breaking their necks in the process) then spit them out and grabbed another one.

You have a fence around your property?

 

[red3101]

Yes but it isn't a useful fence because the gate fell over during a windstorm. Husband is fixing that before building fort Knox for chickens.

One bird was still alive - both legs were useless so my husband killed her to put her out of her misery. I suppose a dog could have done that too.

The hole that was yanked up was about 6" tall × 8or10"wide.

Sigh. We didn't even think about dogs. We feel really bad and guilty.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

It's okay. If you raise birds long enough eventually something like this will happen.

Look at it as a chance to start fresh. Maybe there's a specific breed or color you always wanted, now's the time to get it (well, after the fence is up).

If you ever see a loose dog, call animal control right away. You should look up their phone number now and write it on a piece of paper you can keep in a purse or pocket. That way its always on hand if you need it. People let their dogs roam all over the place, but if AC picks them up, that'll stop it.

 

[red3101]

This was our first set. We can't decide on what to replace with, so are thinking about ordering a brown layer assortment plus a buff from my pet chicken.

 

[red3101]

The fence is going up this week, the new coop and run in the next several.

My son loved the orpys we had, he's 3.5 and they followed him around.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Orpingtons are very popular. I hope your son is okay. He must be heartbroken.

 

[red3101]

He was for a little bit butwe told him that we were getting new ones eventually and building a new home. He doesn't really understand death yet.

I spent the day sobbing.