Bantam chicks killed by a cat.

[bubbaloo]

I am so devastated, two of my bantam chicks have been killed by a cat, they must have got through one of the small holes in the chicken wire, unbelievable as the holes are really small, will the mum be ok, she sounds like she is crying, she only has one chick left, will she abandon it, I'm so upset for her......??????

 

[DanielleinLA]

I'm so sorry to hear that, how devastating! The hen will be ok, she's probably just wondering what happened, or she's calling for her babies. She is not likely to abandon the survivor, there's no reason for her to do that.
Do you have 1/2 inch spaced fencing around the bottom of your coop? This will keep out the hands of predators. Also keep in mind it could have been a skunk, raccoon, or even a rat. I live in the middle of Los Angeles and we have lots of those hungry critters. Again, sorry for your loss.
Best of luck!

 

[galanie]

So sorry about your chicks. I have seen them go through chicken wire when very young. Not all chicks, just the smaller breeds. She won't abandon the lone chick, she's just wondering where everyone is. Please now put a type of wire with smaller holes over the bottom 4 to 6 inches of the run. I just have the bottom 4 inches of my broody run covered with some plastic hardware cloth.

 

[bubbaloo]

Thankyou, I have now secured the run with more chicken wire and mum and chick are doing well, I still see the cat lurking around....hope it finds something else to prey on...soon!!