1 week old chicks disappeared

[sandychicks]

This is my fist chicken adventure and after losing one in the water bowl we decided to be proactive about their care. We put rocks in the water dish.

So last night we got home late and did not go check on the babies.

We keep them in a rabbit/bird hutch the side wire is square 1/2"x1/2" holes. Bottom is 1/2"by 1/4" pretty dang small holes. The top is one of those wood lids you lift up and has hinges on the back. Also has a small door with latch on the front.

So we go out this morning and 2 of our 9 are missing, poof gone! And another is injured, eyes missing trembling and gimpy on one leg. The top of the cage seems heavy but could a raccoon still open it? Has anyone thought their chicks where secure and had this same issue?

 

[Eggcessive]

Raccoons can open anything, so I'll bet it opened the top. You need to put a latch on the top, and I would move it into a garage or coop for awile. I have one of those hutches that can be used for chickens/rabbits that I use for a sick bay, and it is really not big enough for that many chickens growing out.

 

[sandychicks]

The only thing we have is the inner part of the shed that's an old coop, there is an AC but I doubt it works, but I live in Texas, upper 90's during the day and no air flow, it would be very hot in there. What about a trough with a heavy wire lid, how would that need to be secured?

 

[jellybellyx6]

We had ours in a handing cage last year that we thought that could not be gotten into or reached into. One night we went out to see a mother raccoon using our cages and chicks as a training ground for her babies. The babies reached in and grabbed the chicks and ate them right through the wire. Nothing was left of them at all. No trace of an attack was evident at all the chick were just gone. So yes the holes are small but they can still reach in and get them. Sorry for your loss. I know it is heart breaking to have your chicks taken like that. Best of luck to you.

 

[sandychicks]

So in other words I need to get something a little sturdier and take out what took/ injured them? The babies where so shook up I'm scared they will die of stress. After work, even though I hate the chiggers I think we are gunna go postal on this critter.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It could possibly be something else, but a raccoon is a real possibility. I suggest you try to get a raccoon sized live trap, something like a hav-a-hart. You can talk to animal control, they might have one you can use, if you live where animal control is an option. With your comment on chiggers, maybe not. And some animal control are pretty useless for something like this. It may be a place to start.

You can probably fine a raccoon sized trap at your feed store like Tractor Supply or maybe an Ace Hardware store. Get a raccoon sized one. They are kind of big.

There are a lot of things you can use as bait. Many people are really committed to sardines or marshmallows for raccoons. I just use peanut butter, take a spoonful and put that in a paper towel. A couple of reasons. One, you don’t know for sure what it is. Peanut butter is a fairly universal bait. I’ve set a trap for what I thought was a raccoon and caught a possum. I even caught a feral cat once. I still don’t know how that happened. The other reason I use peanut butter is that I always have some in the house. You can get a bag of marshmallows and keep it in your freezer if you wish, they will last forever, but peanut butter has been effective for me.

You need to have a plan to deal with whatever you catch. Each state, county, or city can have their own laws, but it is probably illegal to take it somewhere and release it. There are a lot of good reasons for that. Occasionally animal control will take it, but usually it is up to you to deal with it yourself.

Some people will tell you to shoot it in the trap. Don’t use a shotgun, that will ruin the trap. It’s up to you to decide if that’s a good option based on where you live and what’s around. A friend blew out his kid’s knee with a ricochet while hunting so I do urge caution.

I drown them, put the whole trap in a rain barrel filled with water. I just horrified a bunch of people but it gets the job done 100% of the time at basically no risk to me or anyone else. I can live with that.

I made this shell to go over my trap. The only way anything can get to the bait is go through the front door. Raccoons are pretty good at fishing the bait out without going through the front door. Really aggravating.

Good luck. These things are not always easy. And if you get one, don’t stop. There could easily be more.