Yeah, they always do it when we aren't there. Like, ANY TIME we aren't there. Like, right at nightfall and then late at night is when they seem to mess with the coop. I've made sure to predator proof it every time I'm out there this last week.
Yes, it turns out our coop has hardware cloth around it entirely. We had to sandwich the cloth in between what already existed as well as another piece of wood.
We put wood on top of the hardware cloth now, and are trying to board up entryways. It likes to dig, dig, DIG. That's what it's trying to do in order to get to my chickens (according to my introduction post, the two left are Speckles and probably Dixi. Angel stays inside of our house so she...
You're right. The coop is covered with hardware cloth. I am 21 and trying to figure out my life 😅
Pictures may be coming soon, although I'm quite hesitant. No chickens were taken today but the predator tugged at the cloth and tried to dig in the front and back spots. Whatever it was it seemed to...
I'm guessing a land animal because today I saw a long trail of Brahma feathers as well as a couple of chunks. Whatever it did it left trails of my chickens feathers.
It killed my remaining Australorp the other day by pulling out it's intestine for all to see and apparently eating it's egg and...
Five out of seven of my chickens were assumingly killed by a predator. One was killed weeks ago, THREE two days ago, and one overnight before I checked this afternoon.
I've got two left, who are probably obviously traumatized.
Apparently the predator got in through some openings that we...
One left a trail of feathers. TWO CHICKENS LEFT 😃 BECAUSE THE PREDATOR GOT IN FROM THE OTHER SIDE AND TOOK ONE. Made extra sure to screw those openings back in. I'm extremely aggravated 😁😁
Update: earlier I had asked Mom if I could go bury her, mom advised against it.
Sure enough, I come home from going out to eat, and her body is gone.
At least it took four years before the predators realized there's a free food source.
We have a ring camera but it's set to our porch. I wouldn't know the first thing about traps. My guess is that an opening had been made because chicken wire was disconnected from the coop, so I think that's where the predator got in, OR the chickens squeezed their way out and then they were free...
Yes, I live in the US. Mid-south region. I think that they could be taken, but I would hope they are just hiding. I couldn't hear them at all when I tried to look deeper into our yard (1.5 acres of somewhat untamed but fenced-in wilderness). I couldn't investigate where the Roo's feathers were...
What would leave a chicken mostly untouched with intestine pulled out, and a supposedly unformed egg eaten right beside it? 1 dead (hen) 2 missing (rooster and hen). Roo's feathers are nearby so I suppose he fought the predator to defend the other two hens. No sign of the other hen.
I posted to...
I also meant to type more 😂😂 but it sent way too early. This is so cute!
I don't know if this detail is important anymore but the footprints were there after the thunderstorm stopped (likely, the night (or early morning) after I could have miscounted, and before I found out we were missing one...
So, an update. I took a deeper look around today, and saw a pile of her feathers, but no bones. I guessed that she's either alive and bald, or something ate her whole. Or, she decomposed. It has been about three or four days.
I go poking around with a long metal stick to make sure her bones...
Thank you for the advice! Most of them follow me to get food any time I take their feed container out of the run. I don't know if she'll see me carrying it around and come running though 😅
So yesterday my chickens had broken out and after a while of taking care of them, I count and I have ...six.
I'm supposed to have seven. I'm supposed to have two black Australorp hens and I only have one.
I spent two hours searching for her yesterday. I don't know what calls to make to lure her...
I will add that he doesn't constantly target me. Sometimes when I'm just sitting down and being still in the coop he acts just fine. It's when I'm moving around and my hands and arms get 'too close' to him while I'm taking care of my chickens and he isn't focused on food or water.
Rooster was just fine until the hens started sharing the same coop with them roughly 2 or 3 years ago. Now he's a menace, and I thought it was just mating season at first but he's a menace every season of the year.
He will always attack my shoes any time they get near.
80% time my hands get too...