Kakaruk
Songster
- Feb 18, 2020
- 129
- 142
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Hello friends,
I see I am not alone as there are other posts of similar massacres......
I have two inch chicken wire all around my chicken run and sealed bottoms as well along the fence line. However, we have a tree with multiple branches going up and I stapled the wire around those. It was good for many years. However, two years ago we had a snow/cold storm and killed parts of the tree. Branches then grew out all over the trunks and I didn't really trim them for nearly two years. As a result, the wire was compromised and a racoon got in there about 6-7 weeks ago, killed a girl. I then fixed it up real good, at least I thought, and cut most all of the branches away.
Then, two mornings ago we woke up with a hole in the wire and all eight hens dead and mangled everywhere, very sad and traumatic! We had three adult girls and five babies about 10-11 weeks. All eight girls were deceased. Only a racoon would do something like that.
Therefore, I am going to use this time to rebuild my chicken coop, mourn, and fortify my run and coop. I put out a trail cam last night and sure enough, it was a racoon.
We will be back however with a new flock soon! Who knows, I might even add a turkey hen or two and/or a duck and Goose to go with the new chickens. I'll research it a bit....
Kakaruk
Texas
I did put out a trail cam last night with bait
I see I am not alone as there are other posts of similar massacres......
I have two inch chicken wire all around my chicken run and sealed bottoms as well along the fence line. However, we have a tree with multiple branches going up and I stapled the wire around those. It was good for many years. However, two years ago we had a snow/cold storm and killed parts of the tree. Branches then grew out all over the trunks and I didn't really trim them for nearly two years. As a result, the wire was compromised and a racoon got in there about 6-7 weeks ago, killed a girl. I then fixed it up real good, at least I thought, and cut most all of the branches away.
Then, two mornings ago we woke up with a hole in the wire and all eight hens dead and mangled everywhere, very sad and traumatic! We had three adult girls and five babies about 10-11 weeks. All eight girls were deceased. Only a racoon would do something like that.
Therefore, I am going to use this time to rebuild my chicken coop, mourn, and fortify my run and coop. I put out a trail cam last night and sure enough, it was a racoon.
We will be back however with a new flock soon! Who knows, I might even add a turkey hen or two and/or a duck and Goose to go with the new chickens. I'll research it a bit....
Kakaruk
Texas
I did put out a trail cam last night with bait