Chicken massacre overnight last night..

[Sunny Side Up]

That sounds so much like the work of a dog, they seem to love gnawing on feathers, especially long rooster tails. The Blue Kote will help discourage the other chickens from pecking at his skin and at the emerging new feathers.

I'm sure you'll eventually get all the kinds of chickens you want as you re-build the flock. I don't put a ton of stock in "what people say" about the different breeds. Sure there are tendencies to consider, but individual results can vary greatly. Each chicken's behavior is a combination of nature and nurture. I bet if your son spends time with all your new chicks and gets them accustomed to regarding him as Bringer of Treats he'll soon have a lot of devoted followers.

 

[mong7769]

I have to agree with Sunny Side Up just from what I've read on here. It seems chickens are as individual as people. Even if you read the breed forums on here you will have one member say 'these are the best (substitue your adjective here)' and then two or three instances later you will see posts of that same breed being the 'worst' at those same things.

I wonder if it would be more meaningful to your son to just pick out his own chicken, regardless of breed? I have to wonder if that might be more healing then waiting for a specific 'chick' to show up. I am a firm believer in animal/human connecitons which have always happend best for me face-to-face (or beak as the case may be) . . .

Where are you in Illinois?

 

[bnjrob]

So sorry for you! It's one thing to lose your animals when they are out ranging, etc. But not when they are shut up inside!

Now you have me thinking about further measures to take. They have those small alarms that you place on doors & windows, when it opens, it breaks the contact between the two pieces and sounds the alarm. They run on batteries and are pretty cheap. I'm also thinking about solar powered motion sensor lights - to light things up if someone/something were to get near the coop. Seems like you can't take enough precautions...

 

[leonphelps]

get a game cam too. this way, you will know for sure what happened and can take preventative measures.

I have foxes near me, but they have not ventured a step near my run. It is like they know...

 

[chickee35]

We have lots of coyotes and raccoons out here and uggghhh skunks! Yuk! tried the flashing lights..etc...still had problems with predators..lots of sleepless nights after we had a similar situation as yours....We haven't lost a bird since we added a horse to the barn. I have found that There are not many critters that want to go up against a horse. Then in my brooding house I have a locked door on it, then at night all chicks go into a big tub (small horse trough) Inside the brooding house. It has chicken wire over the top and My husband added a little door on the top of it and we have a lock on it also. again, havnt lost one yet...(knock on wood). Kind of a pain but well worth it i think...

Before i had chickens i would swerve if a racoon etc ran out in front of my car while I was driving down the road.....I DON'T ANYMORE????


good luck to you and your family......

 

[Chicken Keith]

That sounds so much like the work of a dog, they seem to love gnawing on feathers, especially long rooster tails.

I have to agree with Sunny Side Up just from what I've read on here.

Ditto, here too. The way you describe the scene, it smacks of DOG!

 

[Chicken Keith]

Wish the feathers would blow away...but they are still all over our yard...

I couldn't muster the energy/spirit to pick up all the feathers in my yard either. I still grieve, not in an openly emotional way, but I miss my birds. They were so interactive that I am having a hard time gripping that they're gone.

For what it's worth, the rain seems to subdue the look of feathers in the yard. My lawnmower will pick up mine, when I christen it this year

Tell your son that others out there (like me) have the exact same feelings of grief too, for the same reasons. Hope you guys can heal soon, but it takes time.

 

[Cetawin]

How horrible for you and your family. I understand though, we have suffered losses. I lost my fav roo Thor in July of 2010 and I cried for weeks...I still miss him. He is buried in a special place in front of the house.

We understand around here, you can talk and cry all you want to.

 

[lkilkenny]

My heart goes out to you and your family. I saw your story this morning because I was looking for answers/help as our small flock of 7 girls and a roo was attacked yesterday in broad daylight while "safely" locked in their fully enclosed coop and outdoor run. I received a frantic phone call at work from my 14 and 9 year old boys who had arrived home to discover a SKUNK had dug his way under the wall of the outdoor run, ravaged and killed 3 of the girls and was being held off by the rooset which was blocking the door to the inner coop! Their quick thinking saved the survivors as one of the distracted the skunk with a long stick and the other opened the back door and freed the trapped chickens allowing them out into the backyard. Called Animal Control and state DEM police neither of whom would come dispose of the skunk. My older son and I shot it ourselves and are now in the midst of cleaning up this nightmare. DEM here in Rhode Island did inform me to be careful disposing of skunk due to high incidence of rabies here, and that this is common skunk behavior (meaning the skunk wasn't rabid probably)!!!!!! They kill just for the hell of it and WILL easily take down full grown chickens. This was actually the only time in 20 years of living in this house we had ever seen or smelled a skunk too, not like we even knew there was one around (suprising seeing there are multiple dogs around).

My 14 year is devasted and cried himself to sleep. He has been the major caretaker for the flock since they were 1 day old. We will bury the hens we lost later tonight in an area of the back yard reserved for our dear pets who have past on. And we will all mourn them greatly. Please know we feel your pain and hope rebuilding your flock will ease it a little....our thought are with you.

**** A question to others with more experience with caring for a small flock: Would they have been safer actually our free-ranging??? We actually feel like they died because they were trapped in their coop run with no way to escape and run away. Any thought or advice would be helpful *****

 

[Sunny Side Up]

**** A question to others with more experience with caring for a small flock: Would they have been safer actually our free-ranging??? We actually feel like they died because they were trapped in their coop run with no way to escape and run away. Any thought or advice would be helpful *****

There will be some risks to any place where chickens are kept. All we can do is try to be aware of those risks and take appropriate measures to keep them to a minimum. If your flock had been free-ranging perhaps they could have evaded that skunk, but have been at risk of being preyed upon by dogs or hawks. I don't know enough about skunk habits, but perhaps that one could have done some damage even to a free-ranging chicken.

With chickens we all live & we learn, and sometimes have to learn the hard way. This forum is a good place for the community to have the opportunity to also learn from other people's mistakes.