Chicken losses

[hayley3]

The predator got them sometime between 6AM to 5:30PM yesterday . I am thinking about setting up a trap for whatever it is, just to see what I can get and to get rid of whatever it is. We have a few people with chickens around us and I would hate for them to have to go through this too, so if I do catch something I WILL “put it to sleep”

Just because you catch something in your trap, doesn't make it the guilty party.
Sometimes a possum will stumble onto a dead body, for instance, but something else killed it. At 5:30 pm it's dark at my house and raccoons come out right before dark and sometimes a little before. A raccoon would be more capable of pulling it through the fence than any bird.
What's your location?

 

[BDutch]

If you have all kind of predators where you live I would follow the advices Aart gave you.

More detailled: At night in a save coop or a coop/safe run combination . In the morning after sunset they can go to a larger hawk-safe (less secure) run. And when you are around to supervise you can let them free range or open a door to a large pen with hiding places.

I wouldn’t try to kill predators. They eat rats, mice and other critters and have a function in the eco-system. And most of the time its useless to kil one predator, because another one will take its place.

 

[Mamas_Looney_Farm]

Just because you catch something in your trap, doesn't make it the guilty party.
Sometimes a possum will stumble onto a dead body, for instance, but something else killed it. At 5:30 pm it's dark at my house and raccoons come out right before dark and sometimes a little before. A raccoon would be more capable of pulling it through the fence than any bird.
What's your location?

We live in South Texas. We have had trouble with possums before but usually the dog gets to them before we can get them. It gets dark at 6 here. A few weeks ago we caught a young possum inside the coop and we shot that one. There’s just a whole lot of people around us with show broilers and pet banties and just more chickens, so I would worry about any predator or pests around here.
The coop they live in is normally shut after 5:30 with them all inside of it. Today I moved the smallest hens to a safer coop closer to our barn. I would have moved them all but it is a very small coop, 7 in each coop. I am not going to let them free range now without me around bc I’m just too scared

 

[Building Bridges]

So very sorry for your loss. We get connected to the animals that depend upon us. So hard to lose them.

 

[HenKeepers]

I have goats and dogs in the same are as my coop so I cannot have electric sadly or I would already have had it up. @LizzzyJo I am leaning towards a bird attack too because feathers were scattered everywhere, and I’ve seen all those raptors around recently. I know there is a red tailed hawk hanging around . He got my Buffy hen last year I just hope that my others girlies are ok when i get home.

Goats and dogs are good with electric fences. Chickens get used to them.

 

[Building Bridges]

Goats and dogs are good with electric fences. Chickens get used to them.

Yes I saw a video on youtube about protecting chickens with electric fence. Chickens touch it and learn to stay away as will other animals. I think it was Premier1 poultry fence.

 

[cmom]

I feel your loss. Several months ago I lost a very special bird to a fox during the day. It was my fault for not putting her in her pen while I was distracted. My birds don't seem to be bothered by the electric wire. I think their feathers work like an insulator but other predators will know they touched it including me when I have forgotten to turn it off when I'm working at the coops. I have several game cameras around on my property and most nights I see a predator on at least one of the cameras, mostly coyotes here and they roam at night. I caught the fox and since have seen others but none so far have bothered the birds. Maybe it's the electric wire. I had a cat at a chick/grow-out coop. It was a foggy night so the video is blurry. It touched the electric wire.

 

[Criticalicious]

The electric wire only affects the chickens if they touch it with their comb or waddles where they can feel it. Once they learn to leave it alone, they're fine with it. There's no reason why dogs and goats can't learn to avoid the electric fence as well. The charge shouldn't be strong enough to kill small animals; it only needs to be strong enough for larger animals to think twice about touching it again.

Better to discourage predators - especially if you have neighbors who also raise poultry - than to leave your setup open, which can attract predators to your area. Predators are drawn to places where they can get an easy meal.