Daytime Predator Problem

[Fruity's Group]

We lost a rooster and 2 ducks today. At first it was one bird occasionally, now the predator is bringing their friends. We see piles of feathers around where it must have been taken. We are usually home, though it's several hundred feet out in our pasture. The birds have always free ranged in the grassy pasture with sun and shade trees and have some chicken food and grass/bugs. We think this may be a coyote or fox, but we must do something very fast. We have not seen the predator. I set a raccoon trap, but I'm sure it is too small. What type of trapping do you use for daytime protection? How do you keep your birds and other pets out of it? What else do you suggest? We have two guardian dogs that sleep in the day and guard all night. We also got 2 llamas for a different pasture, but still lost a goose out there recently. I am thinking of tying up the dogs by the chicken area tomorrow and at least they'll sleep near the danger area and could wake up barking and alert us.

 

[Sara Ranch]

*hugs*

 

[Slike]

I'm sorry to hear of your losses in flock and offer my condolences. I may have some useful ideas for you, but first so that I know what range of animal species you might possibly be dealing with, what general region in NA do you reside in?

Emus were my anti-coyote while I was living in a place they inhabited. They're every bit as intent on killing varmints as I am, and they patrol pasture perimeters like nobody's business.

 

[pennyJo1960]

We lost a rooster and 2 ducks today. At first it was one bird occasionally, now the predator is bringing their friends. We see piles of feathers around where it must have been taken. We are usually home, though it's several hundred feet out in our pasture. The birds have always free ranged in the grassy pasture with sun and shade trees and have some chicken food and grass/bugs. We think this may be a coyote or fox, but we must do something very fast. We have not seen the predator. I set a raccoon trap, but I'm sure it is too small. What type of trapping do you use for daytime protection? How do you keep your birds and other pets out of it? What else do you suggest? We have two guardian dogs that sleep in the day and guard all night. We also got 2 llamas for a different pasture, but still lost a goose out there recently. I am thinking of tying up the dogs by the chicken area tomorrow and at least they'll sleep near the danger area and could wake up barking and alert us.

Welcome awful time to say but glad your here --- just horrible loosing even one best case keep the girls in the coop a few days yes put the dogs there or maybe just the lamas as they are great guardians do you live in town or out a ways? are you able to shoot a predator?

 

[Slike]

Also, were there any other signs left?

Tracks (if in soft earth or mud)?
Patches of hair on brush or caught on the fence where the animal came into your pasture? Were all of the killings out in the open?
I take it the bodies were gone, but if not, were there any bite wounds that would indicate the size of the perpetrator? If you can be certain what you're dealing with, it gets easier to whittle the problem down from there.

 

[Fruity's Group]

We live about 10 miles outside of a town in Northwest Arkansas. There are woods, creeks, and rivers out here in the Ozark Mountains. It is very rural/country. There are all predators out here. We have not seen one that takes the complete bird and leaves a pile of feathers, possibly from struggle. We are open to getting emus though they are quite expensive around these regions. We also do not have the area fully fenced. The chickens and ducks have grazed this area for more than a year. We've only lived here that long ourselves.

 

[Fruity's Group]

Also, were there any other signs left?

Tracks (if in soft earth or mud)?
Patches of hair on brush or caught on the fence where the animal came into your pasture? Were all of the killings out in the open?
I take it the bodies were gone, but if not, were there any bite wounds that would indicate the size of the perpetrator? If you can be certain what you're dealing with, it gets easier to whittle the problem down from there.

Yes, the killings have been completely in the open. No fences are around there. No hair or fur has been found yet nor footprints. It has not rained in several weeks, the ground is very hard. No bodies at all, just feathers clearly pulled out from the bodies, as quills were plucked looking and piled in almost a circle

 

[Fruity's Group]

Welcome awful time to say but glad your here --- just horrible loosing even one best case keep the girls in the coop a few days yes put the dogs there or maybe just the lamas as they are great guardians do you live in town or out a ways? are you able to shoot a predator?

We are allowed to shoot a predator. (We need to get a gun first!) I wonder if I sat myself out there and had a gun, if the predator would even come around if they sensed/smelled me.

 

[Fruity's Group]

I'm sorry to hear of your losses in flock and offer my condolences. I may have some useful ideas for you, but first so that I know what range of animal species you might possibly be dealing with, what general region in NA do you reside in?.

I replied below to your message, (I'm still learning how to use this board to post). I am interested in any useful ideas you might have. thanks

 

[Slike]

Since its all diurnal activity its probably either fox or bobcat. Mountain Lion is a possibility, but all of my experiences with them attempting to prey on our livestock were at night.

If it is one of the two cat species, they will often times cache the unfinished portions of their kill by digging a shallow hole and then scraping leaves, dirt, twigs, etc to mound up and cover it. The fact that you're losing multiple birds in a single day suggests that its one of the cats to me. Not saying its impossible, but foxes only ever took one animal at a time, even when they had kits to feed.

When it is light out, I would suggest walking your property and checking under any decent sized shade trees for obvious signs of debris mounded up like that. When they came through my mom's place they'd always bury their remnants of a meal underneath trees, to return later for it. If you do find a cache mound, you can know its a cat.

If it were me dealing with this, I'd keep my birds in 100% of the time til I was able to remove the predator. Its not worth losing your babies to impatience, even if they squawk and curse at you because they want to get out and roam. Far better to be safe and patient (as infuriating as it can be) than sorry.