rooster dead--unknown predator

[sweetmama65000]

Hi, everyone. I'm new here, though i have been lurking for a little bit. i needed to jump up here tonight to mourn a little. my precious, loving rooster, Billy Bob, was found dead this morning. he was in his house, with his head, neck, and most of his breast eaten away. he was one of my two originals, only had him and his girl hillary. i only had four chickens total, but he was my baby doll. he was hand raised, and would follow me around the yard and come on the deck to sit with me. i am heart broken and confused as to what could have gotten him. they are in a chain link pen, and i didn't see any dug areas around the pen. obviously whatever got him couldn't get him out of the pen, so he was consumed in the house. what could have climbed the fence and gotten through the small holes at the top of the gate? i feel horrible that i couldn't keep my babies safe. i thought they were safe and sound, but i was so wrong. i have cried all day, and i can't even think about what he must have gone through.

help, anyone?????

 

[prariechiken]

Sounds to me like a racoon, possibly a possum. A coon will return if he found him a meal and knows there are more entres left. Need to shore up your defences and watch, coons usually come through on a pattern, every 3-4 nights. Build up your pen with some small diameter wire that an old coon can't reach through, and look for gaps, cause they can squeeze through pretty small spaces. I try to get to the point of what I think is "overbuilding" a pen, cause hungry critters are quite resourceful on getting to what they are after. Good luck, and I hope you catch the culprit...

CB

 

[CarriBrown]

I'm sorry to hear about your baby.

Do you have a trap that you can use to catch whatever did this?? We all have different ideas on what should be done after the catch (I have no problem with the SSS approach)...
First thing is first, though. Patch that hole so you don't have anymore victims. We all know how you feel. We all want to keep our little babies safe. Please let us know if you find the culprit.

 

[TheBigWRanch]

I'm so sorry for your loss! I hope you can catch what ever did it.

 

[wolfpack62001]

This is my first post here.
Sorry to hear about your Roo, but I can help with what did it.
You have a problem with Owls, Ill save you the details on how Racoons and Skunks eat a bird, lets just say the way you desscibed your Roo leads me to this conclussion, Ive had problems with Barn Owls and the only way to fix this is a totally cover your pen with a good wire mesh
Hope this helps.

 

[chicknmania]

I'd say probably a possum. But could be a lot of things. Here's a web site I added to my favorites a while ago; kinda long but worth reading and there is a section for poultry predators:

http://sheepscreek.com/rural/predator.html

 

[SpottedCrow]

Sounds like a Masked Bandit to me...
Sorry for your loss.

 

[sweetmama65000]

thanks, everyone. i did spend most of the afternoon "plugging holes", especially the ones at the top of the gate. the pen is covered with one of those black thingies that let's some sun through, but it is only attached every 6-8 inches or so. what kind of wire mesh should i get? and should it come all the way down the sides to the ground? what about something on the ground around the pen to prevent something digging in?
i just wish i had realized all these possibilities BEFORE Billy died. he was one of my "chil'rens", and i spent many an hour holding him and kissing him and cooing to him until he fell asleep in my arms. he was such a good boy, he even trusted me holding his girl. some people think i'm crazy, but you love who you love.

thanks again, all. any other suggestions will be most appreciated.

 

[prariechiken]

For my chicken runs I used to use 2x4" welded wire with poultry netting layered over the 2x4 wire. I now spend the extra $ and use 1x2" welded wire w/poultry netting layered over it. A big coon can and will tear through poultry netting, and will reach through welded wire, thus my layering of the wire around the sides of the pen, (my birds are worth the extra $ I think). I tie in the welded wire over the top of my pens also, hog-ringing the sides to the top about every 4 inches. Once again, I "overbuild" to keep from finding them preds in my birds...

 

[chickbea]

I'm so very sorry.
Do you have weasels in your area? They can get through an awfully tiny hole.