Chicken math

[21hens-incharge]

Holy Hanna! That sounds like coyote. I am so sorry you lost so many. What a bummer. I wonder how on earth it could have eaten or perhaps carried off so many others.

Only other thing it could have been was a hunting training session for a family of Fox.

Most critters like Bobcats will take one and leave the others alive for future hunting.

What kind of geese do you have? My Toulouse was an awesome gander. Would alert during the night if something came in the pen.
My pen was 1/3rd of an acre so could not be covered reasonably. It was also over the septic field so no sinking posts. I did come up missing the odd duck and many duck eggs. The fox usually went for the eggs. I lost ducks to owls and raccoon.

 

[ConPollos]

Thanks ConPollos, Its not feasible for me to lock them up, they share their pen with 11 geese. Thats how I knew something was wrong at 4:30am,the geese allways meet me at the gate when I go to work. This morning they were hiding in the coop. Didn't come out till daylight.

Coyotes can easily leap over a six foot high fence, some hot wire on top would be good. I've got three strands of hot wire around the bottom of my run, one 4" high, the next is 8" higher up, and the top one is 8" above the middle one. I still have to do the top. I might do one on the very top, and one 8" lower.

 

[Outpost JWB]

Ssomething BIG got into the chicken pen last night. I lost 21

WOW! That is a Huge Loss! So sorry

. Hoping you find the culprit before they (definitely sounds like more than one to me) come back for more.

 

[Lady Grey]

Chicken math... *sigh*

When I decided to get into chickens a few months ago, I already had five ducks and three geese (not counting goats, cats, and dog!). I wanted hens because my siblings have declared flatly that they will NOT eat duck eggs. And because I had just lost a goose, and I needed something to keep me busy.

I have a little prefab chicken house which I decided would be perfect for three or four chickens. I had been using it for ducks, before I got too many and had to relocate all waterfowl to the shed! So we went to the feed store to get three or four chicks. Well, when we got there, they had five breeds that I wanted, so I got five chicks... No big deal right? I can fit one more into the coop..

A week later, I thought I had gotten two of the same breed, rather than the fifth I wanted, so I went back and got a sixth chick, because I had already fallen in love with the five I had and couldn't bear to give any up. Turns out I was wrong: I did have five different breeds in the first place. So now I have six chicks, instead of the three or four I had intended.

You'd think I would have stopped there, but I couldn't! After doing some research, I discovered that all the breeds I had would lay brown eggs! I really wanted white and blue/green eggs, too, so I started making plans to get some EE and Leghorn chicks next year, which would give me time to build a larger coop. So a few days ago, at a Wilco looking for fencing, lo and behold, what should they have but EE and leghorn chicks!! Day olds, of course; no where near as large or scrappy as my first brood-- but I had to have them, so after a few discouraging noises from a nearby parental unit, I walked out with three new babies to care for, and no coop big enough for nine chickens.

So now I have nine pullets, three of whom must be brooded separately until they are large enough to compete with my older girls. Nine chickens, six ducks (during this period, I got another duck), and three geese. I had no birds of any kind when the year started. Now, at the end of August, I have eighteen domestic fowl, and my next job is to earn enough money for a larger coop.

Chicken math... *sigh*

 

[JRNash]

Gonna order ( hopefully ) 25 slow broilers and 5 black Jersey Giant pullets to start restocking.

 

[goats2chickens]

Gonna order ( hopefully ) 25 slow broilers and 5 black Jersey Giant pullets to start restocking.

So the coop security improvements must have withstood your predators? I certainly hope so!. Please accept my condolences!

 

[JRNash]

So the coop security improvements must have withstood your predators? I certainly hope so!.  Please accept my condolences!

thanks,and so far so good. The electric fence isn't the fido shock variety,it puts out 65 pulsating ac volts. And after all the chickens they ate i don't expect another attempt for a few days. I did a lot of work to the bottom of the fence only time will tell how well I did.

 

[JRNash]

Holy Hanna! That sounds like coyote. I am so sorry you lost so many. What a bummer. I wonder how on earth it could have eaten or perhaps carried off so many others.

Only other thing it could have been was a hunting training session for a family of Fox.

Most critters like Bobcats will take one and leave the others alive for future hunting.

What kind of geese do you have? My Toulouse was an awesome gander. Would alert during the night if something came in the pen.
My pen was 1/3rd of an acre so could not be covered reasonably. It was also over the septic field so no sinking posts. I did come up missing the odd duck and many duck eggs. The fox usually went for the eggs. I lost ducks to owls and raccoon.

My geese are white and brown chinese,one African and a pack of embdens. It was weird. Ive never seen a predator attack like this. NO FEATHERS IN THE PEN. 4 were layed in a line about a foot apart inside the pen in front of where the wire was lifted up. One of my 5 plus pound Cx was outside the pen about 20 ft away in line with the ones on the inside of the pen. It had been eaten from mid breast back feathers and all.

 

[goats2chickens]

My geese are white and brown chinese,one African and a pack of embdens. It was weird. Ive never seen a predator attack like this. NO FEATHERS IN THE PEN. 4 were layed in a line about a foot apart inside the pen in front of where the wire was lifted up. One of my 5 plus pound Cx was outside the pen about 20 ft away in line with the ones on the inside of the pen. It had been eaten from mid breast back feathers and all.

That is weird. You are sure none of your flock got out the hole and fled, right? Do you have bear in your area? How far up was the fence lifted? No hair on the wire at all? Mystery drives me bonkers, LOL.

 

[JRNash]

No bears here.lol. southeast texas. No hair on the wire and the chicks definitely didn't escape. And believe me it's got me and every one at work coming up with all kind of scenarios. I'M kicking myself in the butt for not examining the birds wounds. I was in clean up and preserve mode. There were not any gaping wounds or other signs of trauma. The impression i got was of something grabbing them in one BIG bite.