Tell How Predators Got Your Chickens. Save Somebody Else From The Bad Experience

[Bocrates]

One question are you required to turn your Fox
over to animal control please don't get me wrong I understand both sides
and I am just asking as chicken loss is a lot of time wasted and money ..

gander007.....

In CO you are allowed to trap nuisance predators year round if they are threatening livestock, person, or property as long as they aren't protected or endangered. However once you have trapped them you have 3 options: release immediately, contact animal control, or exterminate on the spot. The trapped animal cannot be removed from the property alive be anyone other than authorities.

I am an avid hunter and have been my whole life, but both my wife and neighbors would prefer that I exhaust all other options before extermination, so it has been frustrating. Luckily, we haven't lost any birds since my last fortification and their have been plenty of foxes. I think I may have won, though it was an expensive battle. My next fear is spring thaw when the bears wonder around the house like stray dogs. I am fairly sure that all the hardware cloth and poultry staples on earth won't keep the curious bear cubs out.

 

[gander007]

Than the laws are very much the same as here in Ca.

 

[Brookliner]

In CO you are allowed to trap nuisance predators year round if they are threatening livestock, person, or property as long as they aren't protected or endangered. However once you have trapped them you have 3 options: release immediately, contact animal control, or exterminate on the spot. The trapped animal cannot be removed from the property alive be anyone other than authorities.

I am an avid hunter and have been my whole life, but both my wife and neighbors would prefer that I exhaust all other options before extermination, so it has been frustrating. Luckily, we haven't lost any birds since my last fortification and their have been plenty of foxes. I think I may have won, though it was an expensive battle. My next fear is spring thaw when the bears wonder around the house like stray dogs. I am fairly sure that all the hardware cloth and poultry staples on earth won't keep the curious bear cubs out.

In the vulnerable area of my run (it backs up to the woods) I have put a layer of 2" x 4" heavy wire fencing over the hardware cloth. Hopefully my bear's will have a harder time getting thru the hardware cloth into my run. My biggest predators are weasels and fisher cats which are a large weasel not a cat.

 

[Bocrates]

In the vulnerable area of my run (it backs up to the woods) I have put a layer of 2" x 4" heavy wire fencing over the hardware cloth. Hopefully my bear's will have a harder time getting thru the hardware cloth into my run. My biggest predators are weasels and fisher cats which are a large weasel not a cat.

I know the fisher cat. We used to live in VT.

We have the 2" x 4" wire doubled over the run top. I debated on the sides but I honestly don't think it will keep a bear out as I have seen them rip through the 3/4" plywood siding on my neighbor's shed. I worry more about them damaging the coop siding and windows or just pushing the whole coop over. I think we will just wait to see what happens though. I really don't want to go the electric fence route until I know the bears are going to be more than just passingly curious, which is all we saw last summer. We have a game camera that takes a photo of any movement around the coop at night, so hopefully we will know there is a more determined threat before major damage occurs (translated: frugal and lazy).

 

[bunnibird55]

We had a terrible time with something at our farm last night. The trackers think it was either a St. Bernard size dog or a wolf - which we don't normally have wolves in this area. They thought at first it was a cougar, large feet, but they decided that due to the carnage it was more a dog like creature. It tore the door off a little breeder hut and killed Lady, a Buckeye hen and maimed her mate, Tressel. They were SOP quality breeders. I was breeding them for possible show stock. The creature then got into my duck barn and killed a muscovy hen, and two Khaki Campbell Drakes. Two more drakes have spinal injuries, 3 pekin hens have broken legs and two muscovy drakes have pieces missing. The neighborhood is on watch as we are a close farming community. The dog warden said when it comes back, which they believe it will come back tonight, to shoot to kill. We are heartsick and have blocked all the doors and windows of the barns and have the remaining ducks closed into a small pen. I have the injured ones in the basement giving them antibiotics and electrolytes. The vet said the ones with the spinal injuries might have to be put down. I have never had anything this big get into barns and I am heartsick........

 

[bunnibird55]

Another one of my muscovy drakes just died. Rest in peace Blue...... :-(((

 

[okallthis4eggs]

Sorry about your loss bunnibird55. It would be interesting to know what predator did that. Keep us posted. What type of material did the predator manage to break through? Can you post pictures?

 

[bunnibird55]

It was a plywood door and was blocked with a metal fencepost. It knocked the fence post out of the ground and pulled the door away. There were scratch marks all over the door. The trappers at first were sure it was a big cat because it jumped through the snow drifts with a 6-foot span between front and back feet. The feet are round and when I put a ruler next to them, they were close to five inches in length and the same in width. But because of the fact that the creature maimed and tore apart so many animals and left carcasses lying in the yard, they said it acts like a very large canine type creature. I keep going out and I have all the outside lights on, but it killed some of the ducks right under the big security light we have at the end of the brooder coop. It bit chunks out of backs and undersides of my ducks and chickens. If I could figure how to get these pix posted on here, I would, but I can't seem to make it work.......my mind is not working very well right now.....I have spent most of the day crying.

 

[okallthis4eggs]

It was a plywood door and was blocked with a metal fencepost. It knocked the fence post out of the ground and pulled the door away. There were scratch marks all over the door. The trappers at first were sure it was a big cat because it jumped through the snow drifts with a 6-foot span between front and back feet. The feet are round and when I put a ruler next to them, they were close to five inches in length and the same in width. But because of the fact that the creature maimed and tore apart so many animals and left carcasses lying in the yard, they said it acts like a very large canine type creature. I keep going out and I have all the outside lights on, but it killed some of the ducks right under the big security light we have at the end of the brooder coop. It bit chunks out of backs and undersides of my ducks and chickens. If I could figure how to get these pix posted on here, I would, but I can't seem to make it work.......my mind is not working very well right now.....I have spent most of the day crying.

Did they rule out a bear? What about a coyote?

 

[monkeybacon]

Tonight... half hour ago my ladies were going crazy in the coop. My thought was possum. Not th first time. Grabbed my biggest butcher cleaver and got a few good wacks in. On one....the other is huddling behind it. I think the one might die, but will the other one leave then and maybe be scared to return? Im going to go check on them again now. I hate them cause yhey eat my chickens, but i dont like to kill things. Catch 22. Thoughts?