Carnage this morning - what was it? WARNING GRAPHIC PHOTO"S!!!!

[SpottedCrow]

Raccoon...I'm so sorry for your losses.

 

[lavandula girl]

Nancy - we don't live very far from each other. (I'm in Placerville). When we moved here last year, I got some fall chicks, and set them out in the pen at about 8 weeks. Maybe 3 1/2 weeks later, I had a similar scene to this. I did a lot of research, and despite some locals telling me there were no weasels here, the Long Tailed Weasel population, Mustela frenata, is actually pretty robust. In my case, too, there seemed to be no access for raccoons.

While it could definitely be a raccoon that did this to your birds, it isn't out of the realm of possibility to be a weasel. Here's a pic of the weasel I'm talking about:

 

[vnploveschickens]

Nancy, I am so sorry for your losses.

Big Hugs

Val

 

[AHappychick]

be really careful you may not have had problems before but now a predator knows there is food in the area and will look more carefully for more. Coops/cages that were fine before may all of a sudden be noticed and penetrated, or reached in like in what happened last night.

So sorry. Good Luck.

 

[cezhart]

I had city chickens but moved to the country last fall. The word predator takes on a whole new meaning in the country! I've also had this happen & it was a raccoon. It's had to happen several times before I was able to close up every tiny place I didn't know they could get in. This time of year there are young ones about & they can squeeze through the tiniest places. I found raccoon hair all around a small wire opening one time. We just leave live traps set all the time for any new ones that show up because if there's one ting I've learned it's that there will always be more, unfortunately.

 

[NarutoTn]

fereal cats.that is what the damage looks like.if lost 40-70 birds to fereal cats.

 

[cgmccary]

Did you see any "tracks?" There should be a footprint somewhere there. I'm with everybody else- Coon or weasel most likely suspect.

 

[rancher hicks]

So what your saying is that you left these birds in this cage outside at night? Please excuse me for asking why would you feel that is a safe thing to do? I am sorry for your loss just the same.

 

[HenniePennie]

I had purchased 4 turkeys and 2 ducks a couple months ago. Kept them inside a small bldg and figured it was time to let them out now. On saturday I put some kennel panels up, divided it in half with a reg panel and a gate panel to put turkeys in one side and the ducks in other.
Sunday am checked on them. One turkey was dead. It was close to the side, head was like pulled off but still next to body and it's wings were ripped off laying within 10" of body.

The chain link is the 2" so figured whatever killed the one reached in through chain link. So sunday I zip tied 1" chicken wire around the outside bottom of enclosure. I figured that would protect them. We were in the house by dusk and went out to check again an hour later, found another dead turkey it was even still warm. It's head was severed at the base of the neck, with it laying with the dead turkey's body.

I wonder, can racoon's climb up the panels? They are 6' tall. Or was it just able to get it's front paws through the fencing?

The first one did have a small area of brown grass that had blood splatter. The second time there was no blood except directly under it's body and not much at all.

What else can I do to protect the 2 turkeys left and the ducks??

Very frustrated here. Also forgot to say that on sunday 7-12 at about 5:45am something attacked and killed my 1 1/2 year old turkey hen who weighed a good 25 lbs. Whatever it was did not get any meat but it sure made a mess. My birds free range in the fenced in back yard about 50' deep and 300' wide.

 

[lovemychix]

Sorry Nancy.