Chicken found with head missing

[Rsand501]

The same exact thing happened to my chickens I was horrified and very confused. I have no idea what happened. I thought as well that maybe someone did it but maybe it was a rat or a ferret?

 

[Cooper589]

We just increased the size of our flock by five new hens. Lucky all chicks were all hens.

I finally felt they were ready to go into the main population and coup area with fence.

Problem:
Something came in somewhat under the fence and through it. The wire fence is buried into the ground but rust had decayed the fence some.

One hen was lost and the only thing to be found was one drumstick and a pile of feathers. The predator ate the hen inside the fenced area and returned to the woods.

Picture included.

Trapping of varmints? What is considered legal and ethical?


:-(

 

[etammy]

No. Instead of killing every animal that wants to eat, make the coop very secure.

 

[Sonya9]

No. Instead of killing every animal that wants to eat, make the coop very secure.

I completely agree. A secure coop will keep both the chickens and the wildlife alive, and traps don't guarantee chicken safety.

 

[Cooper589]

I have reinforced my fenced coup area to end the free chicken dinner.




Most all of these predator animals are eventually killed crossing the road.

 

[sourland]

No. Instead of killing every animal that wants to eat, make the coop very secure.

I agree in principle, but also believe in removing any predator that continually stresses and tries to gain access to my flock.

 

[Sonya9]

I agree in principle, but also believe in removing any predator that continually stresses and tries to gain access to my flock.

I did relocate a ratsnake that kept raiding the coop. Took a few tries but I finally managed to make the coop fairly "snake proof".

I moved to the country to be in a more natural environment, killing the local wildlife that comes around because I CHOSE to get chickens is not an option for me.

If I had killed the first snake raider it wouldn't have made any difference, other snakes kept coming, more rat snakes and even a timber rattler got into the hen house. Plus the first snake was a very docile and beautiful animal, obviously a few years old and in perfect health, killing her would have been a crime against nature.

 

[etammy]

I agree about the crime against nature. I mean, what species eats/kills the most chickens...humans, should we kill all the humans too. I have read on this site that a missing head only is often a raccoon. Snakes will eat the eggs and maybe a chick. I love snakes so I am glad you chose to re- home rather than eliminate a species.

 

[Sonya9]

I agree about the crime against nature. I mean, what species eats/kills the most chickens...humans, should we kill all the humans too. I have read on this site that a missing head only is often a raccoon. Snakes will eat the eggs and maybe a chick. I love snakes so I am glad you chose to re- home rather than eliminate a species.

Yeah I love them too, the first rat snake was a very docile and sweet/trusting animal (when she wasn't eating my beloved bantam chicks). I have a couple of captive bred garters as pets.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I very much agree that the best way to protect your chickens is to have a secure coop (or maybe coop and run) and managing them properly. By management I’m talking about locking them in a safe place at night and considering your predator pressure how much, if any, you allow them to range and forage.

Trying to remove any predator that visits is not a long term solution. There may be more than one, there are always more being born and eventually looking for hunting territory, or someone will abandon a dog or a pet is allowed to roam or maybe escape. Proper facilities and management is the best long term solution and works really well in the short term too. It is in your control.

What removing a threat will do is relieve predator pressure from a critter that is hunting your area. There is one less immediate threat. Whether you do that or not and how you do that will depend on your unique situation, locals laws and customs, and your personal desires and ethics. To me it is a personal decision, I respect that. But I am not going to force my morality on others.

I will point out that proper facilities and management is the best solution, your chickens will be more secure. And I’ll occasionally express my opinion that things like blasting away with a rifle especially but really any gun in suburbia is probably a really bad idea. I have and use a gun by the way. That comment is not anti-gun. It’s about improperly using a gun, which gives anti-gun people more ammunition. Whether people follow my suggestions or not is not in my control either. It’s all based on personal decisions.