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Gallo del Cielo said:
We had a crappy day yesterday. I let my birds out to free-range at 8am, as usual, while I piddled around the yard doing chores. Went in at about 8:20 to take a shower and the phone rang. I never get out of the shower to answer the phone, but something had me answering. It was my neighbor at the end of the block asking if I was missing any chickens. He had just seen two birds running across the street to the next block over. I surely didn't think they were mine, but I raced out back to check on them. What I saw was complete carnage, feathers everywhere and my poor BO, Waldo, dead on the ground. Not another bird to be found. I ran down the street and around the corner where the two birds were spotted and found my Delaware and one of my EE hiding in some dried weeds. They let me pick them up and I quickly searched for others. Went back to my house and saw my BA standing in the middle of the yard, apparently in shock and I grabbed her up and put the three into the run. It was so crushing that more than half of my flock was gone. I searched the yard again and then looked into the back alleyway, right there in front of me was a coyote, eating my other EE. It was barely bothered by my presence and only took the bird and ran away when I hopped over the wall and went after it. So, two birds were still unaccounted. For one I had high hopes, there wasn't a single feather from Mrs. Beasley anywhere. But most crushing was the massive amount of feathers and a wing from Weegee, my CM, the top bird in the flock. I searched the yard for another fifteen minutes or so and then searched the surrounding blocks and alleyways for the next hour, but finding no trace. I just killed me thinking that she could be lost out on the street. When I gave up searching and went home to look in the back yard again, right there next to the coop was Mrs. Beasley and standing right next to her was Weegee. It was one of the few times in my life I was sure that I was hallucinating because I was so certain she was dead. But I wasn't. She lost a good portion of her feathers, including most of the flight feathers from one wing (which is why I thought I saw her wing on the ground), but escaped with no other obvious wounds. So, in the end, we were fortunate that only two birds were killed. They stayed up on the roost for a couple hours, but by late afternoon, they were anxious to be let out of the run, which was not going to happen. I think the coyote came back this morning because they still have not come down off the roost.
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So Sad :( I would be so ******... I probably would've grabbed my bow and hunted every coyote within a one mile radius... but thats just me.. really sorry.. hope the rest are doing alright
 
Thanks everyone. I'd like to say my story was a warning about complacency towards urban predators (and maybe it does that). But truth is, it was a calculated risk I had thought I had accepted. The reality of the cost seems quite dear. For the first two years of chicken raising here in Tucson we free ranged them only under supervision. In the worst heat of last summer we had to leave the chickens with our house sitter and we decided that we would let the girls free-range unsupervised during the day so that they could find the coolest places in the yard as they normally do when we're here. Since then they've been let out in the morning and locked up just before sunset without incident. I guess the luck just ran out.

I think the coyote was, in fact, returning from eating our cat the previous day. I let poor Rocket outside at 4:30 am and he didn't come back in at 8 am as he usually does. I think the coyote chased him into the back yard and over the wall, where he was caught. Maybe it saw the chickens then. I'm pretty sure it came back today as well. The birds didn't come down off the roost until nearly 11 and they didn't beg to be let out all day.

I wished there was something I could do about the coyote. Being in the center of such a large city limits my options. Of course the best option in keeping them safe is to lock them up.
 
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Oh, and thanks for nominating me for the BYC Spirit badge. I know it was my AZ peeps because I haven't been posting much on the open forum. You guys are great.
hugs.gif
 
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we had something similar happen in our yard, a neighborhood dog got in and killed one of our 2 hens (the babies were all inside still) my youngest found the dead hen before we could get into the gate and see. our other hen survived but was tore up pretty bad.i had never let the hens "live" in the house before but peper lived in the bath tub till her shock wore off.
 
G- My heart goes out to you. I am glad the others were found though. You do everything to protect your girls and something like this occurs. Sorry to hear about Rocket as well. :(
 

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