22 Cornish cross dead!!!

[Justin]

Well.....went out this morning to put the feed out for my 5.5 week old cornish crosses, and there they were all dead. Necks ripped open, some with missing heads, and most with all the feathers pulled off of the breasts. I'm thinking it has to be raccoons, but ???????

I was moving the pen last night(got home late, trying to get everyone down for the night) I pulled their feed and stuck some timbers near the end of the tractor that wasn't quite touching the ground. That was all it took.

Moral of this story is don't ever let your guard down, not even for a night. These predators had to have been scoping these birds out for a while, and my tractor is bulletproof. It just wasn't quite sitting on level enough ground....

 

[Amyable]

So so sorry, that's just devastating.

 

[Southerngirl]

Definetly coons or possums; skunks and minks also will do that to chickens.So sorry for your loss!

 

[cartychic]

im so sorry for your loss, you poor thing, I lost one last week to a heart attack, I cant imagine how your feeling,

 

[JessHall]

I really hate raccoons, this sounds like their work!

I am so sorry for your loss.

I can't imagine.

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

I'm SO sorry-

Are you able to put in a coop part that the chicks can get locked up in at night so if something is able to get under, they can't get in amoungst the birds OR put an apron of hardware cloth around the bottom of the tractor to stop them from getting under even if there is a gap?

They'll be back for more.

Good luck

 

[deerman]

That many, mommy coon and her half grown kits.

Dogs will kill that many, but dont feed on each, coons eat the best part(parts they like) then move to another.

 

[silkypie]

Quote:
how do you know it had a heart attack???

I am so sorry for your loss!!

 

[outbackbill]

Coons and weasels and several others. Get an Electric fence like the farmers use and put it close to the ground around your run and coop. If a coon hits an electric fence it will not return. Turn it on in the evening. Make sure you have more than one wire run parallel to the ground with one very close to the ground. Look for a fencer that has continuous charge not a pulsing one. If the animals attacked once they will return.

 

[Justin]

There's really nothing for them to return for, they killed all of the meat birds....I made sure that the coop that my BO's are in is locked up good and tight, with the windows closed and the vents just open.

I kept one of the carcasses and left it in the yard....I'll be checking on it periodically through the night.....with my .223