Poultry Predator Identification

[eekgads]

Awesome article!

I just lost my favorite roo, laying hen & 3 month old chick to a predator this past weekend. I was SO upset! So my DH & DS sat out the 3rd night & shot a possum. However, we are skeptical that we've taken care of the predator responsible. After reading this article, I'm SURE that there's another predator out there that took them.

The roo was missing one morning, no blood or feathers. That evening, my DH & DS found the head of a chick-no body, blood or feathers. The next morning, something got into the pen & took my best layer & an up-n-coming pullet but this time, there were feathers everywhere.

My DH & DS went out into the woods & found patches of feathers further back. I think it's a fox.

Before dark, we're now putting the chickens in big dog carriers & bringing them inside. We have an unlucky few who are in a carrier outside in a pen to use as bait w/ a game cam to watch. Wish us lucky hunting!

One question: After reading this thread, it seems that these predators seem to be able to take our favorites first. Why is that???

 

[tfpets]

Quote:
Best of Luck hunting - I hope your "bait" makes it though! I always guess my favorites go first because they are the most passive and tolerant, used to my presence at night and day, so they are used to disturbances. The obnoxious or flighty types are very good for longevity though! I'll bet if they were free to run about, my Penedesenca's would have had a better chance! (I lost some in one of my coops to a skunk penetrating a gap in a covered chain link kennel). The nicest pets do seem to be the ones we lose...it's sad.

 

[lovemyjerseys]

Great article!

 

[pedro24]

Great article!

 

[wlburnette]

Very informative article. Thank you so much. I now have it narrowed down to possum or coon. Now I just have to figure out how they are getting in to my pens!

 

[wlburnette]

ok. so it now it could be an owl. guess i'll just have to rebuild the whole chicken pen!

 

[airstreamnut]

Two nights ago, we lost 16 of 18 mature hens, and 5 5 month old guineas. They were in separate coops. All 16 still had their heads and we just laying there with attacks to the back of the neck area. Last night, we lost another chicken, this time with its head missing. It had been dragged out of the coop and left about 10 yards away. These are our first attacks here on our farm since we moved here in the spring. I put out 2 weasel boxes after the first attack but they were empty this morning. Either a coon or weasel or mink I think. Now to catch the predator. We're here in central NY.

 

[melanief]

Thanks so much for a comprehensive article. We got our weasel with fly bait. Just have to be sure no domestic animals can get to it before the weasel.

 

[Madcap621]

Quote:
Obviously, someone found the pictures. The link didn't work for me!

Where are the pictures???

 

[Cowgirlgrace]

Hello everyone, I've finally joined but desparation has motivated me. Been meaning to sign up for a while and know I'm going to love this. I just read the predator article and it was very helpful but am now confused as my searches for the predator in my coop have turned up conflicting info.

We have had chickens at this farm for 17 years and I have never had a predator problem except stray dogs when the chickens were let out to roam but no problem with that for many years. My chickens have a very secure coop but are free to come and go as they please between the coop and the run (6 foot chainlink but not covered)and I do not lock them in at night. Seventeen years of no predators made me very trusting. Three mornings ago after a hard frost I came down to find a dead chicken still warm and as it had been daylight for a few hours the tragedy happened in the daylight hours. With the cold if it had happened in the dark it would have been cold. The only injury to the hen was its bottom bit out and the innards were eaten, No damage to the head and neck and no meat was eaten, breasts and legs and all was still intact. We quickly made doors for all the coop openings so they couldn't come out in the morning until we let them out. I searched for predators on the internet and came up with the only animals who bite the bottoms were possoms and skunks and weasels were said to bite the heads. Thinking they would be safe if not let out until around 9 am I let them out the next morning with out any problems but the following morning after letting them out and returning a few hours later there was yet another dead chicken, same as the first but cold and rigored so not sure what time it happened but definately daylight.

The article states that weasels do this but other info says they don't and only go for the head so still not sure what we are looking for. Been standing guard the last few mornings with the 22 and kept the dogs at the house so as not to scare whatever it is from showing itself but nothing yet. Would rather trap it and I would probably miss with the 22 anyway but want to know what it is first. Has anyone had this type of predation? Whatever it is the chickens are not even safe in the daylight. Aren't most of these predators nocturnal? It's probably climbing over the chainlink but if it's a weasel it could fit through the links. There is a section that borders a hillside that the chickens have scratched into and under the link but I have kept filling it in with logs and rocks but it could still be possible that there is a burrow there though I can't find one.

Please help. These poor chickens are suffering horrible slow deaths by losing their intestines! Ick! I never want to let them out again.