I am just so disappointed and frustrated.
We bought that expensive door opener only to find out it only lifts a one pound door. So we make a door out of plexiglass. Fine.
We go out of town this weekend and my neighbor was coming by on Friday and Saturday to check on the water and food. Fine. She called last night to say that something got in the coop Friday night and knocked over the food. One Rooster was outside dead. Crap but ok. So I call her back and say no problem we will deal with it Sunday.
We get back from the Farm Aid concert last night at about 1am and the coop chicken (small) door is open. THe opener is not working. So no wonder something got in. Then a Raccoon head peeks out. DH RUNS to the house for the gun (locked in the safe). I stand outside talking so the coon hears me and won't come out. He comes back and kills it! It was a mama and it was big. THink Small dog or larger. Also shoots baby (cat sized) in the tree.
At first I didn't see any birds but they were up on the top rafter scared. I am missing 4 birds total. Here is the kicker. I seriously doubt the raccoons took the birds. I think something else took them. Coons usually kill but don't take the birds away, right? THe birds are gone, no trace of them. No feathers, only a couple drops of blood, gone. We were hoping they flew away because the pen they could technically fly out if they tried hard enough.
So this morning I see a bird outside and I go down there. THe Plexiglass door that we manually shut last night is broken in half and on the floor. One of the remaining 5 birds was who was outside. No other casualties. So something else did it. The broken door could still be another coon right?
I am really angry. So my best rooster is dead and two more hens. All I have left of the big birds is 3 hens and 2 dumb roosters I was fixin to kill for the freezer.
Oh I do still have my six pullets in the chicken tractor. The chicken tractor that we slapped together last year in a week is apparently the best coop we have. Nothing has ever gotten in there and the birds get grass. GLad I have spent all this time building the giant coop, I mean Raccoon restaurant. GRRR!!!
I know how the coons are getting in, our pen does not have a lid on it and is attached to the coop. THey are climbing over and since the door didn't work obviously free lunch. Frustrating but my fault. What would have climbed a six foot fence and taken 4 birds? No feathers anywhere, a few tiny drops of blood in the coop (could have been one a coon killed) but the others? What could have taken them like that over the fence?
**edited to remove profanity and censor bypassing**
We bought that expensive door opener only to find out it only lifts a one pound door. So we make a door out of plexiglass. Fine.
We go out of town this weekend and my neighbor was coming by on Friday and Saturday to check on the water and food. Fine. She called last night to say that something got in the coop Friday night and knocked over the food. One Rooster was outside dead. Crap but ok. So I call her back and say no problem we will deal with it Sunday.
We get back from the Farm Aid concert last night at about 1am and the coop chicken (small) door is open. THe opener is not working. So no wonder something got in. Then a Raccoon head peeks out. DH RUNS to the house for the gun (locked in the safe). I stand outside talking so the coon hears me and won't come out. He comes back and kills it! It was a mama and it was big. THink Small dog or larger. Also shoots baby (cat sized) in the tree.
At first I didn't see any birds but they were up on the top rafter scared. I am missing 4 birds total. Here is the kicker. I seriously doubt the raccoons took the birds. I think something else took them. Coons usually kill but don't take the birds away, right? THe birds are gone, no trace of them. No feathers, only a couple drops of blood, gone. We were hoping they flew away because the pen they could technically fly out if they tried hard enough.
So this morning I see a bird outside and I go down there. THe Plexiglass door that we manually shut last night is broken in half and on the floor. One of the remaining 5 birds was who was outside. No other casualties. So something else did it. The broken door could still be another coon right?
I am really angry. So my best rooster is dead and two more hens. All I have left of the big birds is 3 hens and 2 dumb roosters I was fixin to kill for the freezer.
Oh I do still have my six pullets in the chicken tractor. The chicken tractor that we slapped together last year in a week is apparently the best coop we have. Nothing has ever gotten in there and the birds get grass. GLad I have spent all this time building the giant coop, I mean Raccoon restaurant. GRRR!!!
I know how the coons are getting in, our pen does not have a lid on it and is attached to the coop. THey are climbing over and since the door didn't work obviously free lunch. Frustrating but my fault. What would have climbed a six foot fence and taken 4 birds? No feathers anywhere, a few tiny drops of blood in the coop (could have been one a coon killed) but the others? What could have taken them like that over the fence?
**edited to remove profanity and censor bypassing**
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