4 pullets at once?

[sherrydeanne]

I thought I had a raccoon problem that had *ahem* been taken care of. Then about a week ago my run door was broken in half and ALL 4 of my pullets were gone. Some feathers, but no bodies. Everything was fairly melted so I didn't even see any tracks other than the cat, squirrel and deer that are so common. Could a raccoon (or several) take 4 birds at once? I live abutting a 500 acre park, so anything, including foxes and coyotes are possible. These are all full grown chickens.
I tried reading through everything but I couldn't find any posts about a predator cleaning out a whole coop. I'm considering rebuilding and need to repair/rebuild well enough to keep whatever that was, out!

 

[LynneP]

It may have been a gang, most likely a female and her comrades, even a family unit. You'll have to re-build for the strongest predator in your area. There is no such thing as 'too strong'. Sorry to hear about your pullets, winter hunger makes many predators bold.

 

[chickenma]

Yes ,they can. if they are hungry and it is for grabbing they will.
One morning I woke up and 4 of my ducks were eaten .

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

First of all sorry about the loss of your pullets. When you rebuild the door make sure that it and the frame it is attached to is substantially strong. I also put 2 latches on the door. One at the bottom and one halfway up. That way there is no way for a predator to spring the door ajar and squeeze through. I use the bolt type latches with a combination lock in them. Coons are smart and will figure out how to open them if not locked. When you are sleeping all night, they have a huge window of opportunity to work on getting to their next meal.

 

[mxpres]

A hotwire helps to detour most predators,

 

[sherrydeanne]

Found some tracks yesterday, guess the fellon decided to see if I had restocked the buffet. Red Fox!!!! Sneaky jerk. At least I know what I'm working against, now. I figure if I make a run that's racoon and fox safe, I should be set. Thanks all.

 

[fordmommy]

Quote:
At least you know now what it is. I was going to say it sounded like a dog. Now you'll have to try and trap it or something. Good luck!

 

[sherrydeanne]

Thanks

I live next to a state park, so I refuse to trap or kill. I'm going to give myself one more chance at keeping my chickens safe via fences and doors and if I can't, well, I don't have the right to have chickens. I figure the predators have just as much right to live as do my chickens. Does that make me a total wuss? Just glad to know what it was so I can try to plan. Hope this thread is helpful to anyone else who may have a whole coop wiped out.