What kinds of Predators have taken your birds?

[ayla23]

Foxes, coyotes, hawk, neighbor's dog (attacked my duck in front of us and it died the next day) snakes got eggs, luckily no run ins with skunks. One attack was either possum or raccoon, dead bird with missing gizzard and most of the neck (this was in a covered coop so I know it wasn't a hawk).
Strangely enough most of my birds I've had seem to do better once their free range. I had one hen left out of 8 that a hawk got the others, she lived only bc she was the only one who had previously figured out how to get out of the coop. That was last fall and she's doing great, just started laying in fact (we just got her a boyfriend so hopefully its bc she feels safe with him around lol)

 

[SNJchickens]

I had a pullet lifted away from my yard not 3 feet from where I was standing! The falcon was a bit too small to get a good grip and ultimately dropped the pullet. She survived and grew to be a HUGE hen, but now she is my "the sky is falling" hen. Each time the wind blows or tree branches rustle she runs for cover. If a tarp blows or a plastic bag gets away from me she freezes in place and trembles.

 

[RonP]

Sss? I realize it means killed but what's it stand for

Shoot
Shovel
Shut up...

 

[Kluk-Kluk]

You didn't list Possums or Skunks.

 

[OnlyOrps]

In all my years with chickens I've had great pyrenees and in all that time I've lost one hen who always insisted on going all alone deep into the woods and she was lost to a cougar. It was so sad. We fixed the hole in the fence she escaped through and have never lost another animal. Knock on wood.

 

[kikithebird]

Hattiehatesfox-- what are quolls??

a quoll is a small australian marsupial

 

[plefferts]

Bobcats have discovered chicken dinner at my place.

Watch Bob catch one of our girls on youtube. If the link doesn't work, search "bobcat gets chicken in Woodstock" If you wait the whole 30 seconds, you see Bob prancing back in view with his/her dinner.

 

[Sandiejo13]

The first summer we let the chickens out to free roam, a few went over the dike to the neighbors yard.... the neighbors dog killed 3 or 4 of them that summer.... however, we couldn't say much since he is a bird dog and they were in "his territory". We were not upset, but spoke to the neighbors, so they new what was happening... as long as the dog did not come into our yard and kill birds, we were OK with anything that happened in his yard.... but after the initial birds, he has left them alone....

Thru our first winter here in ND with chickens, we had a few coyotes wonder into the yard looking for a meal, however, our "chicken coop" is a stock trailer that has been enclosed to keep the cold out as much as possible... so it is pretty much vermin proof at night when the doors are closed....

BUT, 3 weeks ago, we had our first mink attack!...between my check and treat feeding at 4:30 and locking them up for the night at about 6:15, he had killed 4 and drug one off... which was partially how we found that it was a mink, not a feral cat, (which we had seen in the area the day before)... after trailing the drag marks, my husband retrieved the dead bird, built some trap boxes and using the dead birds as bait, had the mink caught the next morning, ironically with the same bird he had drug away! Last week we caught another one... so the traps will stay out for a while... just in case there are any more in the area....

While we have plenty of Bald Eagles and large owls in the area, we have not lost one chicken to birds of prey.

 

[chihuahua4446]

Raccoons are our top predator
A weasel took out our entire lovely flock one year (it was such a tragedy. Our chickens are our pets and are much loved)
Opossums are quite frequent as well.

Never had problems with flying creatures even though we do have hawks that circle around. Also never had issues with dogs or other domestic animals luckily.

 

[kwsturges]

Here in NCAL, coyotes, raccoons and skunk!