chickens attacked last night

[bob67cam]

ok im new here so hello all
but what made me jump in is i had a few, well a bunch of chickens attacked last night
to fill yall in, in new to chickens and coming up fast in the area of chicken predators unfortunately, lost 1 to a hawk and 2 to a skunk and 3 more i have no clue about, but so heres the scoop
i started out like any other chicken newb and built up from there the coop now nothing can get into, yet and no signs of anything trying however last night something wanted to i guess
im not sure where to really start this but ok i have 4 "real chickens, left
i also have 13 "mutant" chickens (fast growing)
all will be 8 weeks this weekend about
also meaning ive been into chickens for about 8 weeks
so the pen is basicly 2x4 framed with 1 inch chicken wire around everything except the floor, but i have been watching for any signs of digging and to date there is none so since about 2 weeks ago i havent lost any or had any signs of anything bad till last night, i can see where the fence was pulled and pushed and whatnot i found 1 buff orphington(i think) dead, only a scratch on his neck
a black austrolorp (i think) that i think still has his eye but ithad a slice behind it and the skin has covered the eye, sice is only maybe 1/4 inch long
now the mutants
the big rooster has pretty much no skin around his drumsick
another has alot of blood/skin loss on 1 side, reminds me of something getting hit by a car
1 mutant hen that wont stand or walk, at best she will turn around but ive looked it over and there is no signs of any injuries
there is i think 1 more mutant with a couple small scratches
this is the 1st attack ive had with injuries, it was almost easier just to find the remains
ok so im going tonite to buy a few sheets of plywood and cover the bottom 2 feet of chicken wire figuring on the chickens are almost a foot tall and nothing else should be able to reach them from there, im guessing they just got caught sleeping when the attacker hit them, i do have a house for them but the mutants wont go up the ramp and the real chickens just want to stay with their freinds i guess
but back to the chickens, i have no idea what to do for the injured chickens, i have the big rooster in the house so noone pecks at him. he seems still fairly strong but hurt none the less
i know bandaids arent gonna do the trick so any advice would be greatly appreciated
thanx in advance, bob

 

[deatonchicks]

I know that a hawk will swoop down and get on a chicks back and then peck at the back of it's neck. We had a hawk get 5 of ours. A few of them weren't even bloody. I think they just fell down dead from the impact. If you have a hawk still in the area, I'd get them in and keep them in for about 2 days. That's what we did and he's gone. It's illegal to kill a hawk...if you get caught

 

[bob67cam]

well i know it asnt a hawk this time, we lost 1 to a hawk but now its fully covered, only 1 inch holes in the chickenwires

 

[redkan]

A couple of things: First, chicken wire isn't very strong and won't withstand much if you find yourself with a determined predator. You might want to consider reinforcing it with either hardware cloth (1/2" holes, heavier duty wire) or the heavier wire that's got 2x4" holes might work in combination with the chicken wire. Second, if your chickens won't go in the chicken house then herd them in for their own safety. You probably won't need to do it long before they learn to go on their own. If you don't fit inside the pen then find a stick (yardstick, fishing pole, whatever) and gently tap the ground behind them. You'll find they move right along.

Good luck!!

 

[bob67cam]

ok ill agree chicken wire isnt the strongest however, heres a pic of my coop

along with the 2x4 frame i have screwed furring strips so the chickenwire cannot pull out, also since this last attack i have now put up 2 foot plywood along the entire bottom of the coop
o also, the chickens, mainly the mutants will not use the ramp , whether it be cuz theyre too fat or whatever, ive made them all walk up it a few times by pushing n such and they just will have none of it, they assume jump off the side rather then go up, i really dont want to install handicapped rails also to the ramp, any ideas there?

 

[2boxers]

I'm going to start this by saying that I know diddly about chickens. We live in a rural area and our chicken coop is near the woods-closer to the woods than I would like. Every morning when I get up, I go down there & pee. My husband does, too. We pee in different spots everyday so that human scent is all over. We also encourage our dogs to do the same. I know it sounds gross, but knock on wood, it's working so far.

Your coop is very cute, btw! Ours was built with scraps and it looks like crap.

 

[mom wewantchicks!]

this may already be in here and i could have missed it,but by mutant chickens do you mean meat birds. i am also new to chickens and had that happen to me, got birds,some where huge and once finding this site, found out i had meat birds. we only had two and after some debate,we desided to go ahead and make them dinner. if thats what you have, and didnt know, they are not the smartest of the chickens. which is why they dont want to go up that ramp,or the ground is closer to the food LOL

 

[cluckychick]

Instead of allowing the chickens to stay out at night you really need to put them in the coop. Chickens do not see in the dark and therefore cannot get away from what they cannot see. After awhile they will learn to go in at night but until them you need to train them. As long as they are in the run after dark predators will see fair game and do whatever they can to get a free dinner. Now they know where they are they will be back for more. Good Luck and that is a nice coop you have there.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Agreed, that is a beYOUtiful coop there! But you're saying that the birds won't go in their house to sleep, but instead spend the night on the ground in the run?

That is a very vulnerable place for them, and raccoons & other critters can reach in through the wire and grab themselves a snack of sleeping chicken. The 2' plywood might prevent that, but perhaps it would still be too tempting for a predator to resist trying to get in some other way.

It would be best if you could get them all to go into their house at night. It may take a while of driving them in every evening until they become habituated to it. For some birds it only takes a few days, much longer for others. I guess it depends on how loud the voices in their heads are speaking to them.

After looking at your photo, I'm wondering if the ramp is just a little too steep for their comfort? Before you add the handicapped rails, perhaps you could try making the ramp longer and add more traction. I've heard that those mutant meat birds can easily injure their legs so you don't want them jumping off the side of the too-steep ramp too many times.

There was a recent post from someone else having difficulty getting their birds into their house at night, you might want to read that thread for more ideas.

Also, I think there's an aerosol or power type of wound care product you could apply to your chickens' injuries, to keep them from getting dirty or infected or inviting for others to peck at. Does anyone know what type to use?

 

[justpete]

Can you add a light on a timer inside the coup?