Daytime attack

[kyleen]

Yesterday I let my chickens out at 6 am and when I returned at noon, 1 was dead on the ground, 1 was missing and 3 others were injured. I have 6 foot fences and this has never happened in the year I've had them free range. What could of gotten them, and the two that are injured- should i separate?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Anything that climbs fences could have attacked them. Have you checked the perimeter for holes or breaks in the fence yet? Look carefully.

Yes you should separate the injured birds to prevent pecking of the wounds from the rest of flock. I just use bacterial spray from the farm/garden store- Blu-kote.

 

[TwinsLoveChicks]

I'm sorry about your girl!
Here's a site to help you figure out what attacked.
http://www.poultrydvm.com/predator-identifier.php

 

[Margie Mae]

Sorry to hear of your loss.
I had my first incident today with a hawk. Fortunately my 3 girls are okay but rattled. I was working in the yard while they ranged and heard a ruckus behind me. The hawk was pretty close around the bushes where they ran. I yelled and clapped my hands to chase it away. But he knows they are here now so I will need to be more attentive while we are out. The hubby ran out of the house wondering what the heck was going on. Couldn't find one of the girls for a minute or so. She must have moved fast to hide.

 

[All Ball]

Folks in my area have been reporting a lot of losses, even from raccoons during daylight hours, which seems real weird to me.

 

[BlueBaby]

Could have been a coyote. They can jump fences even higher than 6 feet. I was told that one had jumped a 7 foot fence to get at some free-ranged chickens before.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Watch out, raccoons are big carriers of rabies!