Anyway to tell if it was a Fox or coyote??

[Nksg75]

I had a coyote go over a 5 foot fence. When it did, some of the birds also went over the fence and the coyote went back over and was chasing them around the yard in the daytime. I did get a shot off but was unlucky because I had bird shot in the gun as I had been hunting squirrels. I'm sure I hit the coyote as it abandoned it's chase but with bird shot only wounded it probably. It killed 3 birds and wounded another that died the next day. The bobcat was a nighttime deal. It killed 14 birds. That is why I put electric wire around my coops and pens. It dug under a fence. I put leg traps out for it . It didn't come back the next night but did come back the following night. I put leg traps out for the fox that dug under the gate to one of my pens. I tried a live trap and covered it and had branches on it. I put a game camera up but it wouldn't go in it. It went around it and did sniff and dig next to it but wouldn't go in it. I think I might be able to find the video and get some frames from it.

Wow,
That sounds like a nightmare battle!!
How many birds did you have prior to all this?
I am considering overstocking birds.
Since it’s not my property I am limited on my options for expanding runs. I am sure they wouldnt mind, however I just don’t feel comfortable asking to expand right now.
I just recently put my birds there.
I have purchased 2 game cams and going to put them up within the next day or so.
Since there are 2 donkeys in the pasture, I am thinking that it may have been a Fox, or bobcat.
We don’t have weasels here, being in South Texas.
So my list is bobcat, Fox, or coyotes. I am leaning on Fox though the way it sounds like they kill.
What kind of electric fence do you have?
I see the electrified chicken netting advertised on several sights, just not sure if it would put out enough of a shock.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You do have weasels (long tailed) there but they don't carry off their kills, at least not that many.
Check out the last paragraph of this link.
http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/mustfren.htm

 

[Nksg75]

Hmm,
You are correct! I never knew. I truly thought weasels were primarily north of Texas. Thank you for that. You just educated me on this.
Even though I am not in a county that they have been sighted doesn’t mean we don’t have them.
It’s good to know that at least they don’t carry them off.
Now I am going to be on the lookout.

 

[cmom]

Wow,
That sounds like a nightmare battle!!
How many birds did you have prior to all this?
I am considering overstocking birds.
Since it’s not my property I am limited on my options for expanding runs. I am sure they wouldnt mind, however I just don’t feel comfortable asking to expand right now.
I just recently put my birds there.
I have purchased 2 game cams and going to put them up within the next day or so.
Since there are 2 donkeys in the pasture, I am thinking that it may have been a Fox, or bobcat.
We don’t have weasels here, being in South Texas.
So my list is bobcat, Fox, or coyotes. I am leaning on Fox though the way it sounds like they kill.
What kind of electric fence do you have?
I see the electrified chicken netting advertised on several sights, just not sure if it would put out enough of a shock.

I have electric wire around my coops and pens, concrete under the gates and heavy duty netting over the top of all of the pens. My husband and a friend built these two coops which are open on one side. Before I put the netting up I had an owl get in and kill several birds two females and one male survived but were bloody.

The owl killed most of these birds.

These were the survivors.

 

[Nksg75]

I have electric wire around my coops and pens, concrete under the gates and heavy duty netting over the top of all of the pens. My husband and a friend built these two coops which are open on one side. Before I put the netting up I had an owl get in and kill several birds two females and one male survived but were bloody.
View attachment 1490725
The owl killed most of these birds. View attachment 1490729
These were the survivors.
View attachment 1490731

I am sorry you had to go through that. I believe I read your post when you were having that problem. After searching how to catch a fox, I came across your post.
I put up the game cams, and just hoping I can find out who the culprit is.
Since I have donkeys in the same pasture, and kids around I have to be careful what I use. I will have to trap this animal, and can't use leg traps because of the donkeys.

 

[cmom]

Both Fox and Coyotes are very weary and are hard to live trap.

 

[cmom]

There was a live bird in the trap but the coyote and fox wouldn't go in to the trap. The bird was safe so they couldn't have gotten it.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

We had something kill a chicken that was free-ranging in the late afternoon/early evening less than a week ago. We had a pile of feathers, some scat, and a grassy bed at the scene to help ID the predator. I bought a book, Mammal Tracks and Signs: A Guide to North American Species by Mark Elbroch that was very helpful. Our bird’s feathers were cleanly plucked or sharply sheared at the base of the shaft. Scat was passed internal organs, 1/2” in diameter. Bed or lay was 2x3 ft. These signs pointed to canid, with lay being a larger canid. Further inspection of property showed candid tracks consistent with coyote. Therefore, we think coyote was most likely predator. Nothing seen on game cam aimed at the coop!

 

[cmom]

We had something kill a chicken that was free-ranging in the late afternoon/early evening less than a week ago. We had a pile of feathers, some scat, and a grassy bed at the scene to help ID the predator. I bought a book, Mammal Tracks and Signs: A Guide to North American Species by Mark Elbroch that was very helpful. Our bird’s feathers were cleanly plucked or sharply sheared at the base of the shaft. Scat was passed internal organs, 1/2” in diameter. Bed or lay was 2x3 ft. These signs pointed to canid, with lay being a larger canid. Further inspection of property showed candid tracks consistent with coyote. Therefore, we think coyote was most likely predator. Nothing seen on game cam aimed at the coop!

Leave the game camera in one place for awhile. There are some nights when nothing shows up on some of the cameras but I do have multiple cameras in different spots and most every night at least one predator gets it's picture taken. I see mostly coyotes and fox on my cameras. Once in awhile I will get some other predator. This was early one morning at dawn. These are some of my coops. They don't go too close because they have tested the wire at least once. Coyotes.