All my chicks are dead...

[aart]

Dogs dont have wirery fur and minks and weasels do!

Many dogs have coarse wiry hair...especially terriers, especially the wire haired fox terrier.

Mink, and the rest of the weasel family, has smooth, soft hair....it's why they make fur coats, collars, and muffs out of them.

 

[Kiki]

Minks and weasels can live anywhere even in the city but raccoons and possums wont live in the city there is a better chace of them geting hit by a car minkx and weasels are fast and small

I live in a city...a huge, busy, cement city...full of busy roads/freeways...
We have raccoons and opossums EVERYwhere...AND they even come out during the bright day...not just after 7 pm.

 

[Blooie]

Quote:With all due respect, have you ever seen a Jack Russell Terrier? Almost all terriers, with the possible exception of Soft Coated Wheaton Terriers, do have very wirey coats. Jack Russells are great little dogs...they have no idea they are on the smaller side and act like the world is their oyster. They have an exceptionally high prey drive. And they are persistent - if they see what they want they'll go after it full bore until they get it. They'll dig like crazy, and they'll even climb if they have to.

But that's not the point here anyway. Predators do not always follow the National Geographic descriptions of their behavior or where they can be found. They are, by their very nature, opportunistic and if they see a chance for a meal the time of day won't matter to them one bit. There are reports after reports right here on BYC of people stunned to see raccoon around their coops in broad daylight. Same with possums and other supposed creatures of the night. So our job is to expect the unexpected.

What we have do is help the OP with how to better insure that if and when she gets new chicks they don't meet the same fate, and let her know that she isn't alone - lots of us have lost birds to predators of one sort or another and we figure out how to protect them better the next time. It stinks. But it's just another part of chicken keeping that comes with the territory. I've had a dog try to dig under my run. The hardware cloth apron we put down stopped her. Chicken wire is designed to keep chickens in - even a small predator will rip right through it.

@TattooedChicks some photos of your set up (when you're ready, of course) would be very helpful so we could help you a little better. You might not be ready to go out there yet and we understand that. But if we could see how you are setup and such, the advice someone might give would pertain more to your individual situation. Your privacy fence idea is a good place to start, but critters - including Jack Russells - dig. So a barrier of some kind on your side of the fence to deter that would be a good addition.

 

[Kyanite]

I'm not sure where you're from, but raccoons have lived in every city and town I ever have.
MANY breeds of dog have wire coats, and mink and weasel are prized for their SOFT fur.



Edited by Staff

 

[bobbi-j]

Just some general information here, mostly gained through observation. Predators of all kinds can be found out n urban as well as rural areas. When my son was going to college in St. Paul, MN he watched a coyote run across a busy 4-lane highway. In Minneapolis last summer, two people were bitten by a rabid fox. There are raccoons, skunks, hawks and opossums in urban and suburban areas. I don't know that mink are quite as common, but not impossible. They prefer to live in or near wetlands.

About raccoons getting very sick from the light. That misconception may come from people believing that only rabid raccoons come out during the day because they are mostly nocturnal. Absolutely false. While it's true that most of the predators mentioned above are more active at night, they will also come out during the day if the opportunity presents itself.

Dogs can have smooth hair, wiry hair or anything in between. They certainly can and will break into a chicken pen night or day. They will often kill and leave several chickens at a time. Weasels will also make multiple kills and leave dead chickens everywhere. My experience with weasels is that they will bite a chicken on the neck or under the wing, leaving little to no blood.

When it comes down to it, there are no absolutes when it comes animals, whether they are wild or tame.

 

[MissBay]

My only advice is to learn from your past mistakes. We've all been there. Trust me. And remember, animals that hurt or kill your chicken are just acting on there built-in
instinct. It's really no different than your chickens feverishly eating and killing everything in there sight and eating it. Tho there just bugs, worms and such the same instinctul
behaviors kick in. It's all natures balance. In the mean time, fix those holes and entry points for good cause whatever killed the babies will probably come back for more until they realize
that can NO Longer get to them. Doesn't hurt to put coyote urine spray around to keep some of those animals out of your yard.

Good Luck !!!!!

 

[TattooedChicks]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone here has given me a lot to think about! I have a chicken savvy buddy coming in from out of town in a week or so who says they will help me go over the coop and run after I decide if I'm going to repair or actually start over and learn again. I wasn't invested too much financially in my set-up, less than $30 in hardware, paint and free pallet wood and after two weeks actually using it, there were some small things I already wanted to change. There were a lot of hopes and dreams put into that coop too, something just doesn't feel right now when I look out the window and see it empty.

And I'm not more than superficially angry at the suspected dog, instinct trumps all of our sense and emotion, dogs will be dogs. or possums, coons, or anything that might have been passing through. But now that I have been reminded of such a harsh lesson, perhaps I can try again with a new insight to consider.

That, or I'm going to have a flock of house chickens.

Thank you again, for everyone's time, consideration and kindness.

 

[aart]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone here has given me a lot to think about! I have a chicken savvy buddy coming in from out of town in a week or so who says they will help me go over the coop and run after I decide if I'm going to repair or actually start over and learn again. I wasn't invested too much financially in my set-up, less than $30 in hardware, paint and free pallet wood and after two weeks actually using it, there were some small things I already wanted to change. There were a lot of hopes and dreams put into that coop too, something just doesn't feel right now when I look out the window and see it empty.

And I'm not more than superficially angry at the suspected dog, instinct trumps all of our sense and emotion, dogs will be dogs. or possums, coons, or anything that might have been passing through. But now that I have been reminded of such a harsh lesson, perhaps I can try again with a new insight to consider.

That, or I'm going to have a flock of house chickens.

Thank you again, for everyone's time, consideration and kindness.

Good Outlook<thumbsup>
Best of cLuck!

 

[Blooie]

I was so happy to hear that you have someone who can help you beef things up and that you might be willing to try again! And someday you'll see a post from someone going through this and be able to reassure and help them! I have faith in you - you've got this!

 

[100chicklover]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone here has given me a lot to think about! I have a chicken savvy buddy coming in from out of town in a week or so who says they will help me go over the coop and run after I decide if I'm going to repair or actually start over and learn again. I wasn't invested too much financially in my set-up, less than $30 in hardware, paint and free pallet wood and after two weeks actually using it, there were some small things I already wanted to change. There were a lot of hopes and dreams put into that coop too, something just doesn't feel right now when I look out the window and see it empty. 

And I'm not more than superficially angry at the suspected dog, instinct trumps all of our sense and emotion, dogs will be dogs. or possums, coons, or anything that might have been passing through. But now that I have been reminded of such a harsh lesson, perhaps I can try again with a new insight to consider.

That, or I'm going to have a flock of house chickens.

Thank you again, for everyone's time, consideration and kindness. 

Your welcome for all the help I gave you I hope you get everything fixed and no more of your chickens are dead from preditors