Baby chick massacre :-(

[Chickenp00p]

Hello all,

I just bought 10 EE and 10 Silkies from TSC.. They are a couple of weeks old now.
I put them out in the barn last night for the FIRST NIGHT,
Came out this morning and 12!!!! had been killed

I thought I checked thoroughly for any openings, but I guess not.

Most of them were just dead, I haven't had a chance to check punture marks yet, but mostly my silkies are just laying there, no part of them eaten.

My EE chicks, the top half was eaten.

I am leaning toward either a raccoon or the feral cat we just adopted. I have noticed this cat has an affinity for birds rather than mice, but I didn't think he could get in the bard, as there are no mice missing, and no large gaps except maybe one by the door.

My main question is, would a cat kill that many without eating them?

I am so sad, I feel so bad

Thank you.

Edit:
I should add that there has been a full grown pekin duck that sleeps in the barn for years now and has been fine. But he is a lot quieter than baby chicks.. Also, I just went into the barn and i think i see raccoon tracks.. The cat can't seem to get in when I call him.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

 

[Tankueray]

Short answer, yes.

I'm very sorry for your loss, and yes, it's more likely it was the cat than a raccoon. But, are you sure the cat wasn't hiding in the barn somewhere when you closed it up, or is it also possible that it could've been a rat?

Raccoon tracks have five distinct, slim toes with visible claws, like hands; cat tracks have four fat toes and no claws. (There is one wild cat whose claws show in the tracks, I can't remember which one right now, but the prints are much larger than either of the other suspects.)
https://www.wildernesscollege.com/raccoon-tracks.html
https://www.bear-tracker.com/domcat.html

Many people have an idea of cats being "mousers". They'll only chase something down if it seems fun to them. They will just as easily let mice come and eat from their bowl and lazily ignore them if they're not in the mood for a game. Captive baby animals kept in a convenient restaurant-like food warming box are a different story, however. (Small dogs bred for the purpose are literally better mousers.)

I have a family of raccoons that lives at the creek on my property, 20 yards from the chicken yard, 30 yards from my (back) porch with the brooder. They have taken up temporary residence under my front porch in the past (as have skunks). I watch them play in the water around sunset every so often, and a large part of their clan apparently died of Canine Distemper (local Vet's guess) last summer, but there are still plenty out there. Just a few months ago, I had one come to the fence, stand on its hind legs and rattle the bars like a convict, and give me direct notice that my grown chickens are on the menu. The next day a very large owl was perched atop the light pole above their yard. Predators will happen, those most comfortable with humans and entering human-stinky areas will strike first. My ducks do not coop up at night, some of my chickens roost in the trees. Loss is inevitable and natural. I won't cage my birds and prevent them from living a life that best suits their instincts, but I won't let them be easy prey, either. A (big) dog that loves to poop around the yard, electric fence, motion lights, and ample wildlife habitat near the creek (for easier prey like rabbits and frogs) are the only external defenses I have implemented. And, knock on wood, that has been more than adequate as long as the creek isn't dried up (or a freak polar vortex happens). None of those things really deter a domestic cat (or snakes) though.

Cats like to go unseen. I too had 24 chicks taken by a feral cat over the course of a week. No evidence, just gone. It had to do a delicate acrobatic act to gain entry and even get passed a dog. It was only once the cat got cocky that I caught him one morning strolling onto the enclosed porch.

Raccoons usually leave some evidence of entry. They can open latches and doors (use carabiners, they have trouble with them), but they don't close them behind them. A juvenile raccoon might not kill everything, but would leave more evidence of trespass than an adult. There would probably also be digging marks around that gap if that's the entry point.

If either animal were surprised during the attack, it might leave things unfinished. The duck would be too big for a cat, maybe too quiet or too much work for a raccoon. The chicks were way more convenient. The cat is somewhat comfortable in your spaces and there's a gap near the door, if it can get it's head through the gap, it can get in. Again, cats like to play. It probably pawed around at the silkies and held them down until they stopped making noise, at which time they were no longer fun. The EE's being bigger could stand to be played with longer. Every carcass that I've found that was killed by a cat only had the top parts eaten (basically from the crop up). If they do not take the kill back to feed their young, or they are fed regularly by humans, they will leave it.

Going forward, fortify your brooder. Make sure it has hardware cloth instead of chicken wire, hinged doors with latches, or if a tub, a framed hardware cloth lid with heavy weights placed on top (gallon jugs work). Don't use a heat lamp, awake chicks make noise and are easy to see. Try a ceramic heat bulb or a plate brooder instead. If it is the cat, you can try to put slightly crinkled foil or sticky side up contact paper around the brooder, they hate stepping on tape.

The cat can be managed (trained, diverted, not killed); afaik, my cat is still around and stalked the yard for a while once the chicks were turned out. The dog always goes with me outside and does a perimeter sweep, because chasing cats is super fun. They were big enough 2 weeks later that the cat lost interest (if it was hungry, it would keep coming after them regardless of size). The cat can also eventually become a roommate to the adult flock and even a protector, just don't let it around any chicks, that'll probably never change.

Wild animals will return and eventually go after the adult birds. If you have a way to improve the native habitat near your home, I believe offense is a much better strategy than defense. Stock a pond, let natural cover plants grow; make it more convenient for them to be wild than to be scavengers.

You live, you learn. Happiness has no meaning if you don't have sadness to compare it to. You'll do better next time, I'm certain of that.

Tip for skunks: They hate stinky stuff. Go buy the most obnoxious cheap cologne you can find and spray it around the base of structures they might want to live under. Repeat weekly during mating season and after a hard rain. Works like a charm.

 

[Chickenp00p]

Short answer, yes.

I'm very sorry for your loss, and yes, it's more likely it was the cat than a raccoon. But, are you sure the cat wasn't hiding in the barn somewhere when you closed it up, or is it also possible that it could've been a rat?

Raccoon tracks have five distinct, slim toes with visible claws, like hands; cat tracks have four fat toes and no claws. (There is one wild cat whose claws show in the tracks, I can't remember which one right now, but the prints are much larger than either of the other suspects.)
https://www.wildernesscollege.com/raccoon-tracks.html
https://www.bear-tracker.com/domcat.html

Many people have an idea of cats being "mousers". They'll only chase something down if it seems fun to them. They will just as easily let mice come and eat from their bowl and lazily ignore them if they're not in the mood for a game. Captive baby animals kept in a convenient restaurant-like food warming box are a different story, however. (Small dogs bred for the purpose are literally better mousers.)

I have a family of raccoons that lives at the creek on my property, 20 yards from the chicken yard, 30 yards from my (back) porch with the brooder. They have taken up temporary residence under my front porch in the past (as have skunks). I watch them play in the water around sunset every so often, and a large part of their clan apparently died of Canine Distemper (local Vet's guess) last summer, but there are still plenty out there. Just a few months ago, I had one come to the fence, stand on its hind legs and rattle the bars like a convict, and give me direct notice that my grown chickens are on the menu. The next day a very large owl was perched atop the light pole above their yard. Predators will happen, those most comfortable with humans and entering human-stinky areas will strike first. My ducks do not coop up at night, some of my chickens roost in the trees. Loss is inevitable and natural. I won't cage my birds and prevent them from living a life that best suits their instincts, but I won't let them be easy prey, either. A (big) dog that loves to poop around the yard, electric fence, motion lights, and ample wildlife habitat near the creek (for easier prey like rabbits and frogs) are the only external defenses I have implemented. And, knock on wood, that has been more than adequate as long as the creek isn't dried up (or a freak polar vortex happens). None of those things really deter a domestic cat (or snakes) though.

Cats like to go unseen. I too had 24 chicks taken by a feral cat over the course of a week. No evidence, just gone. It had to do a delicate acrobatic act to gain entry and even get passed a dog. It was only once the cat got cocky that I caught him one morning strolling onto the enclosed porch.

Raccoons usually leave some evidence of entry. They can open latches and doors (use carabiners, they have trouble with them), but they don't close them behind them. A juvenile raccoon might not kill everything, but would leave more evidence of trespass than an adult. There would probably also be digging marks around that gap if that's the entry point.

If either animal were surprised during the attack, it might leave things unfinished. The duck would be too big for a cat, maybe too quiet or too much work for a raccoon. The chicks were way more convenient. The cat is somewhat comfortable in your spaces and there's a gap near the door, if it can get it's head through the gap, it can get in. Again, cats like to play. It probably pawed around at the silkies and held them down until they stopped making noise, at which time they were no longer fun. The EE's being bigger could stand to be played with longer. Every carcass that I've found that was killed by a cat only had the top parts eaten (basically from the crop up). If they do not take the kill back to feed their young, or they are fed regularly by humans, they will leave it.

Going forward, fortify your brooder. Make sure it has hardware cloth instead of chicken wire, hinged doors with latches, or if a tub, a framed hardware cloth lid with heavy weights placed on top (gallon jugs work). Don't use a heat lamp, awake chicks make noise and are easy to see. Try a ceramic heat bulb or a plate brooder instead. If it is the cat, you can try to put slightly crinkled foil or sticky side up contact paper around the brooder, they hate stepping on tape.

The cat can be managed (trained, diverted, not killed); afaik, my cat is still around and stalked the yard for a while once the chicks were turned out. The dog always goes with me outside and does a perimeter sweep, because chasing cats is super fun. They were big enough 2 weeks later that the cat lost interest (if it was hungry, it would keep coming after them regardless of size). The cat can also eventually become a roommate to the adult flock and even a protector, just don't let it around any chicks, that'll probably never change.

Wild animals will return and eventually go after the adult birds. If you have a way to improve the native habitat near your home, I believe offense is a much better strategy than defense. Stock a pond, let natural cover plants grow; make it more convenient for them to be wild than to be scavengers.

You live, you learn. Happiness has no meaning if you don't have sadness to compare it to. You'll do better next time, I'm certain of that.

Tip for skunks: They hate stinky stuff. Go buy the most obnoxious cheap cologne you can find and spray it around the base of structures they might want to live under. Repeat weekly during mating season and after a hard rain. Works like a charm.

Short answer, yes.

I'm very sorry for your loss, and yes, it's more likely it was the cat than a raccoon. But, are you sure the cat wasn't hiding in the barn somewhere when you closed it up, or is it also possible that it could've been a rat?

Raccoon tracks have five distinct, slim toes with visible claws, like hands; cat tracks have four fat toes and no claws. (There is one wild cat whose claws show in the tracks, I can't remember which one right now, but the prints are much larger than either of the other suspects.)
https://www.wildernesscollege.com/raccoon-tracks.html
https://www.bear-tracker.com/domcat.html

Many people have an idea of cats being "mousers". They'll only chase something down if it seems fun to them. They will just as easily let mice come and eat from their bowl and lazily ignore them if they're not in the mood for a game. Captive baby animals kept in a convenient restaurant-like food warming box are a different story, however. (Small dogs bred for the purpose are literally better mousers.)

I have a family of raccoons that lives at the creek on my property, 20 yards from the chicken yard, 30 yards from my (back) porch with the brooder. They have taken up temporary residence under my front porch in the past (as have skunks). I watch them play in the water around sunset every so often, and a large part of their clan apparently died of Canine Distemper (local Vet's guess) last summer, but there are still plenty out there. Just a few months ago, I had one come to the fence, stand on its hind legs and rattle the bars like a convict, and give me direct notice that my grown chickens are on the menu. The next day a very large owl was perched atop the light pole above their yard. Predators will happen, those most comfortable with humans and entering human-stinky areas will strike first. My ducks do not coop up at night, some of my chickens roost in the trees. Loss is inevitable and natural. I won't cage my birds and prevent them from living a life that best suits their instincts, but I won't let them be easy prey, either. A (big) dog that loves to poop around the yard, electric fence, motion lights, and ample wildlife habitat near the creek (for easier prey like rabbits and frogs) are the only external defenses I have implemented. And, knock on wood, that has been more than adequate as long as the creek isn't dried up (or a freak polar vortex happens). None of those things really deter a domestic cat (or snakes) though.

Cats like to go unseen. I too had 24 chicks taken by a feral cat over the course of a week. No evidence, just gone. It had to do a delicate acrobatic act to gain entry and even get passed a dog. It was only once the cat got cocky that I caught him one morning strolling onto the enclosed porch.

Raccoons usually leave some evidence of entry. They can open latches and doors (use carabiners, they have trouble with them), but they don't close them behind them. A juvenile raccoon might not kill everything, but would leave more evidence of trespass than an adult. There would probably also be digging marks around that gap if that's the entry point.

If either animal were surprised during the attack, it might leave things unfinished. The duck would be too big for a cat, maybe too quiet or too much work for a raccoon. The chicks were way more convenient. The cat is somewhat comfortable in your spaces and there's a gap near the door, if it can get it's head through the gap, it can get in. Again, cats like to play. It probably pawed around at the silkies and held them down until they stopped making noise, at which time they were no longer fun. The EE's being bigger could stand to be played with longer. Every carcass that I've found that was killed by a cat only had the top parts eaten (basically from the crop up). If they do not take the kill back to feed their young, or they are fed regularly by humans, they will leave it.

Going forward, fortify your brooder. Make sure it has hardware cloth instead of chicken wire, hinged doors with latches, or if a tub, a framed hardware cloth lid with heavy weights placed on top (gallon jugs work). Don't use a heat lamp, awake chicks make noise and are easy to see. Try a ceramic heat bulb or a plate brooder instead. If it is the cat, you can try to put slightly crinkled foil or sticky side up contact paper around the brooder, they hate stepping on tape.

The cat can be managed (trained, diverted, not killed); afaik, my cat is still around and stalked the yard for a while once the chicks were turned out. The dog always goes with me outside and does a perimeter sweep, because chasing cats is super fun. They were big enough 2 weeks later that the cat lost interest (if it was hungry, it would keep coming after them regardless of size). The cat can also eventually become a roommate to the adult flock and even a protector, just don't let it around any chicks, that'll probably never change.

Wild animals will return and eventually go after the adult birds. If you have a way to improve the native habitat near your home, I believe offense is a much better strategy than defense. Stock a pond, let natural cover plants grow; make it more convenient for them to be wild than to be scavengers.

You live, you learn. Happiness has no meaning if you don't have sadness to compare it to. You'll do better next time, I'm certain of that.

Tip for skunks: They hate stinky stuff. Go buy the most obnoxious cheap cologne you can find and spray it around the base of structures they might want to live under. Repeat weekly during mating season and after a hard rain. Works like a charm.

I like you, i can just tell

I agree with everything, we definitely have plenty of natural habitat. I can't wait to let them free range when they get bigger. We just moved from a place that was mostly dirt, to a place that is heavily...green LOL.

So as a result of that, I think there are a lot more Predators sneaking around then I'm used to. I do think it was a raccoon, I am familiar with their paw print from the last place, and it looks more like a raccoon than a padded paw. Definitely little finger marks. Also, the cat couldn't get in when I tested earlier. I went in there and even left the door slightly more open than it was and he couldn't seem to get in. I think the raccoon I just pried the door back a little bit and snuck through.

That was definitely my bad for not figuring out how to tighten that door.

I think what I'm going to do is put hardware cloth on the inside of the chicken coop, because the coop is inside of our barn. And the barn is pretty old and... Ventilated LOL. So I'll just have to put some hardware cloth on the inside. Thank you for your input, it was actually very nice to read somehow LOL I like the approach to the Natural Way of things, and I definitely agree with this. Funny side note about the pekin.. he actually belongs to the previous owners, and they had a little kitty pool for him in the yard. Well we have a nice big pond a little ways walk oh, so I took him down there. He absolutely fell in love with it, and now I cannot get him to leave the pond. He has been down there for the last almost a week now, and I keep going back there to make sure he didn't get eaten. But he seems to really like it there's tons of tall grass around the pond so he just hides. But it's nice to see him in his natural habitat. I'm raising baby Pekins for him right now, cause he's all alone, so maybe I can draw him back with a female LOL thanks again for your input.

 

[Tankueray]

Aww, thanks.
I can't get my ducks to spend more than 5 minutes in the creek. They love it, but I'm sure they know it's full of snapping turtles and beady raccoon eyes staring at them. I would just love a break from stinky duck pool duty.

 

[Tankueray]

So as a result of that, I think there are a lot more Predators sneaking around then I'm used to. I do think it was a raccoon, I am familiar with their paw print from the last place, and it looks more like a raccoon than a padded paw. Definitely little finger marks. Also, the cat couldn't get in when I tested earlier. I went in there and even left the door slightly more open than it was and he couldn't seem to get in. I think the raccoon I just pried the door back a little bit and snuck through.

Sure, you're new and they're interested in what's going on around there, especially since you brought snacks. I've never had luck with the normal cage traps for either raccoons or skunks. The skunks usually do something stupid and end up trapping themselves somehow. The raccoon traps that you stake out and they get their hand stuck in apparently work pretty well, but I have not seen a way to release the animal safely from the trap without having to kill it, I guess they fight like devils.

Are you sure there's not a hole in the roof/rafters somewhere they can get into? They don't normally enter somewhere they might not be able to escape. Maybe it's a juvenile. Pick up a couple of the motion activated scary ghost in the tree things next time you're at the big box store, you might get lucky and scare young ones off before they start asking to crash on your couch just until they can find a job. Strobe lights are good too. Bonus: you can charge admission to your haunted barn on the weekends.

Call your local Ag agent and see if there's any assistance they can offer about building up that habitat. Some states have grant money or tax incentives to do so, Texas has a pond stocking program and native plants sometime during the year, and all states should have experts to get advice from. I think there are programs through USDA and NRCS too. If you're lucky enough to have a small local college with a wildlife or ecology program, you might be able to offer up your plot to one of the professors for a habitat restoration project. Yep, forced labor for a passing grade. I had to survive without an iPhone and count prairie chickens and get chased by alligators, hiking up mesquite and catclaw infested hills both ways, they can too darnit! (At the very least you might get a free wildlife habitat management plan out of it, which you'd need to qualify for most of the government programs.)

 

[tomcam]

Tankueray, you are a remarkable writer.

 

[Tankueray]

Tankueray, you are a remarkable writer.

Thanks, my high school English teacher would probably disagree because I'm too informal, but I appreciate the compliment.

 

[Chickenp00p]

UPDATE
JUST FOUND A CHICK THAT MANAGED TO ESCAPE!!! (And survive the night alone) YAY! She was running around outside!