Coyotes?

[dirtydozen]

To me, it doesnt sound like you have a coyote problem Coyotes are not going to leave a kill, they will take it with them. Sounds like a racoon. They kill for the pure joy of it. I had a six foot pen around my coop and a coyote could jump over it. I raised to 8 feet and no more coyote entry.

 

[007medic]

Over the past few weeks, we have lost 4 hens and a rooster. The first one we thought just died - there wasn't hardly a mark on her, but then a week later, we found one of the hens half eaten and the rooster next to her - but he was barely scratched as well. This morning, my husband found one of our favorite Leghorns along with another hen absolutely slaughtered!

Our 1 acre property is enclosed by an 8-foot concrete-block wall. A neighbor confirmed that there can be coyotes in the area and they can certainly jump and 8-foot wall. We are now locking them in the coop at night but are wondering what we can do to thwart the coyote. My husband is thinking about camping in the backyard in his truck with the shotgun - haha!

I'll be the first to admit that the rooster and I did not get along at ALL - but I would have never wished that on him... RIP Big Red and the girls

NOT a coyote!-- I have witnessed many a coyote kill (chickens, Guineas, two of my geese) -- they NEVER leave something half eaten or not eaten at all. Only feathers are left from a full grown goose, no feet, no beak, just a pile of feathers. You have another predator (maybe a coon or mink or opossum) -- all climb very well. Look for a track. What portion was eaten on the half eaten bird? What was left?

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

It's entirely possible that a coyote got your birds. I live in the center of Tucson and we have a coyote that comes almost every morning and hops the 6' wall that surrounds our property. In the first attack it killed one bird and left it (no obvious marks were found on her) and caught another bird and took her over the wall where I saw the coyote eating it. A couple of months ago it came in the middle of the day and snatched a hen right in front of me. An 8' wall would pose no problem for a coyote. I have a neighbor with an 8' wall and a coyote grabbed a turkey and carried it back over the wall. I agree that they usually take the chickens elsewhere to consume them, but it doesn't always happen that way.

 

[AZchickymomma]

Thank you all for the comments! To answer some of the questions:
No, we do not own dogs. We have cats but they are indoor pets and do not roam the back yard. I have never seen any stray or wandering dogs in my immediate area but that doesn't mean there aren't any around. I HAVE seen stray cats - but I didn't think a cat could do THAT much damage...

When we have found the hens in the mornings, it has been a mix of damage. 2 were completely torn apart with very little left. 1 was kind of half-eaten, and the rooster had no marks at all. The first one we found dead while back had no marks either. We though she died of natural causes.

I have never seen a raccoon or a possum since we've lived here - we live just outside of Phoenix and have been here 3 years. I will ask around to see if they even live in this climate..

My husband cleaned out the coops this morning and found a LOT of blood inside a couple of the boxes. So whatever it is took them from inside the coop. We are now locking them in at night.

 

[coloradoalice]

I don't think it's a coyote. We have lots of them around here and they would have a really hard time with an 8 foot fence unless there were some really good places for footing. They could not jump a fence that high but they could climb it if there were an easy way. Also, like a previous poster said, I've never seen a coyote to not take what it killed with it. And if it's taking stuff from within the coop, well, could a coyote get in your coop? Any coyote who is scaling an 8 foot fence is likely a mature fellow. Is the door to your coop fairly big?

Keep your girls locked up and if you can stay up one night to spy your yard you'll find what it is, or run a video camera. My bet is on raccoon, they could climb in and out without much trace and they are much more likely to leave stuff behind. Also they could get into a coop a lot easier than a coyote. But you'll never know without catching it snooping around!!