55 dead chicks

[ericmcginn5]

My sister had 65 tennage chickens 2 mo th old shd went to look at them and 55 of them were dead in one night. There was 2 holes in the wire about a foot across that a animal came thro. The chicks were everywere some with missing heads some with legs pulled of and some perfectly normal just dead. What amnimal u think this is. Plz help

 

[DaveOmak]

Chicken wire keeps chickens in.... Hardware cloth, 1/2" x 1/2" might keep predators out...

Sorry for her loss..... that is one very expensive lesson....

 

[sbhkma]

Here is my setup with electric wire.
The fencer is solar and attached directly to the coop. The grounding rod is easily pulled up and moved when we move the coop & run. We keep the water around it watered down so it has a good contact.


These are the corner insulators we use. They extend it out from the edge of the coop. We've twice had skunks come sniffing around and get themselves zapped by the wire.


The wire goes all around the perimeter and has a spring-loaded gate that we open during the day for the hens. I shut off the fence, open the wire gate and the coop door for the gals during the day. When they go to bed, the coop door is closed and the gate shut, then the fencer is turned on.


Here's the gate/door setup for the coop.


All my doors-the upper level roost area, the coop main door and the nest box access doors have latches with big caribiner clips on them to keep racoons from opening latches.

 

[btguy]

predators will get around or through anything that can be gotten around or through, look in some of the coop design pages for tricks to help like burying wire. my own advice is that when better wire is put on put trim boards over any edges of the wire. i had something (probably fox or coyote) pull out the U nails securing mine once. since it is practically impossible to drive out all the predators building them out is the best way. when you get wire... if you can break it a predator probably can too. ill admit i went overboard and put horse fence wire around mine but then i have watched a fox have at it and fail since then so . sorry for the losses though. i always hate when i loose one even if it was destined for the dinner table sigh.

 

[ericmcginn5]

Ty all i have my coops suppper animal profed 1/4 INCH wire is the biggest space thro . But my sisters coops not so much

 

[minnehaha]

I would guess it is the work of an evil raccoon, they murder for fun, and after they have hit, the area looks like a crime scene! So sorry for your loss.

 

[brysuebb]

Do you have anyne with ferrets or (weasels i think is another name ) they do this type of killing

 

[LanceTN]

Sounds like a weasel

 

[MeepBeep]

Do you have anyne with ferrets or (weasels i think is another name ) they do this type of killing

Sounds like a weasel

The OP said there was an opening ripped in the wire about a foot across, IMO that pretty much rules out a weasel or ferret as they would have squeezed through a much smaller opening...

My guess is raccoon...

 

[LanceTN]

The OP said there was an opening ripped in the wire about a foot across, IMO that pretty much rules out a weasel or ferret as they would have squeezed through a much smaller opening...

My guess is raccoon...

Could be so, just the beheaded chicks makes me think weasel