Bad news Monday

[AParmer]

Josh comes in from work this morning and tells me he has some bad news. I'm thinking oh dear, they've laid him off. Thank God that wasn't it. Though it was equally sad news. Something killed Baby Chick last night. This is the second chicken we've lost to a wild animal. I'm so very sad, if you've read my introduction you know that Baby Chick was my spoiled little Ameraucana hen. The last one we lost was also one of my favorites, a young Dominique hen. Josh seems to think it's raccoon or a fox. So we are going to be locking everyone up at night until we catch and kill whatever it is that's going after my flock. I'm racking my brain trying to figure out who I know that might have a live animal trap. It's a shame we don't have location based sub-categories for the lending and borrowing of things like this.

Baby Chick is the red colored in the middle there. They thought it would be cute to get on the work table outside as I was feeding. So I dropped them a little feed there since they thought they were entitled. hehe

 

[aart]

There are a couple of Alabama threads, might find some help there.

Plus read up on this forum to learn more about predators and how to protect your flock from them.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[AParmer]

Aart, thank you much for your reply. I will go check out the Alabama forums you linked.

 

[ashcons]

Quote:
How are you currently attempting to keep your birds safe from predators at night? Is your coop secure? Is your run secure?

Your local Department of Fish and Game (or equivalent) may have a few traps that they loan out on request - it would be worth checking into. Animal Control might as well. The first step to keeping the birds safe is eliminating the predators' opportunity to get to them. If your chicken fort knox is secure enough, you won't need to kill any predators and I am all for killing predators, but I know not everyone is and I know I'll not always be around when the predators are.

 

[JanetS]

Sorry for your loss. Was your chicken in the coop/run or out in your yard?

 

[AParmer]

Good evening. I apologize for the delayed response. We were leaving the coop open at night. As we hadn't had any trouble up to the point of loosing the Dominique pullet and then the Ameraucana. When we lost the second we made alternate living arrangements. We've moved the flock to a secure pen at my mother's until we are positive that our yard and coop are fully secure. I miss my yard babies!!! But I know that they are safe where they are for the moment. I have taken this opportunity to not only take care of two predators, but purchased 24 chicks that I'm raising inside, in their brooders.

I borrowed live animal traps from a former coworker a couple of days after we lost Baby Chick. The first night I had them set, as Josh was leaving for work, he spotted an armadillo trying to get into the yard. I didn't get to get pictures of it, but then you wouldn't want me to post those since it didn't even have time to get in the yard and into a trap. When I came out to check the traps the next morning, we had an opossum as well!! I've left them baited and set since then and haven't caught anything. Though I know that all it would take is one wind blown in the right direction to pull something else in.