Chicken attack

[G Anne]

Hello I'm new. I guess this incident is why I signed up. I just had a black Fisher Cat attack my Chickens! It ate one and injured another! First time I ever saw that kind of animal, and it really made a ruckus with my chickens and ducks! The are vicious! Part of the badger family. This happened near the Ohio/PA border. This is my first year with the animals. I love them all! Now I lock up my chickens and non-flying ducks, at night. If be interested to hear from anyone about good or bad issues with your animals.

 

[InterestingChickens]

Welcome to BYC! Good luck with your flock!

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
I'm so sorry for your loss!
Sooner or later every possible predator will show up and try to get your birds. We all find this out, often the hard way, and progress towards having very safe coops and runs for our flocks. It can be a very painful learning curve!
At night our birds are totally helpless, so having a predator proof coop is most important. During the day faster moving predators will get the birds, so having a safe run is also important. Electric fencing or electrified poultry netting work very well against land predators, and overhead netting, at least, works against raptors.
Pictures of your coop and run will be helpful here, and realize that your fischer cat will definitely return!
Mary

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC, and be on high alert. It is very likely the fisher will return. They hunt/kill any time night or day.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Pound for pound, there aren't many predators more viscous than a Fisher cat. Always lock the flock up at night in a predator proof coop secured with 1/2" hardware cloth attached with heavy duty poultry staples or screws with fender washers leaving no opening greater that 1/2".

 

[chrissynemetz]

Welcome to BYC! I'm so sorry about your loss.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi and welcome to the flock! We are glad you joined, but sorry to hear about your loss. Hope your injured hen recovers without incident. Not familiar with fishers, we have raccoons, opossums and coyotes around here. So yes, a very secure coop at night to lock them in at dusk is a necessity, as is a well-fenced large run for daytime exercise. Good luck!

 

[416bigbore]

Hello and welcome to BYC, You found an Amazing Poultry Community to be a part of with many great knowledgeable members, who are more then willing to jump in and help you along your journey with any questions you may have.

Sorry for your loss, best of luck.

 

[N F C]

Hi, sorry for your loss. If you need any help with your injured bird, you can find it over on the ER forum: Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures

Best of luck!

 

[Callender Girl]

Sorry to hear about your loss. Hope your other chicken recovers. My only predator losses were caused by a mink. And, yes, that little weasel returned. Mink appear to kill for sport; nobody was eaten, just killed.

I spent a fortune on hardware cloth to fortify what I thought were secure pens. Every run now has an apron of hardware cloth at the bottom, covered with square stepping stones, bricks and/or large rocks and chunks of concrete.

My birds are only out of their runs when I am home. Even a half-hour trip off the premises means everybody goes back into the coop for their own protection.

Sorry for the circumstances that brought you here, but always happy to welcome a new member to BYC. I hope all your birds stay safe!