Dead Chickens...have a suspect.

[EggSighted4Life]

I never said it was wrong I said it was wrong to encourage ppl to do so. If someone had done all they can with no kill methods then I get this is a last resort but most ppl when hearing/read it might/is a fox it's automatically kill it followed by some who say do it quick and others who like to basically torture the animal. One person running round some place in the forms on another post basically said shoot it (the fox) with a bb/pellet gun if that dont kill it infection will. I find that horrid

My misunderstanding.

I agree, that is terrible... and sad to hear of a fellow BYC'er with that attitude!

Everybody has different situations. Glad you haven't had any run ins with the chicken predators. It's never a problem until it is, then it's too late.

Got just about every predator here... even in the suburbs of LA they find bears and mountain lions. It's good to have layers of security in place, in the hopes of avoiding issues, as you say. It's not always possible.

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

My misunderstanding.

I agree, that is terrible... and sad to hear of a fellow BYC'er with that attitude!

I was quite shocked and still am that so many ppl jump to just kill them specially in seeing how is that time of year they have babies.

 

[abraga]

Bad thing about foxes...they will sometimes kill a whole flock for the fun of it. If its a female with young...chickens are a tarhet to train thier own youngsters who will also indescrimently kill for fun.its a tuff decision...i have a lot of emotion, time, money in my birds. Unfortunately the fox would have to go.

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

Bad thing about foxes...they will sometimes kill a whole flock for the fun of it. If its a female with young...chickens are a tarhet to train thier own youngsters who will also indescrimently kill for fun.its a tuff decision...i have a lot of emotion, time, money in my birds. Unfortunately the fox would have to go.

I don't think animals kill for fun like humans do. Look at fox hunts in the UK it's disgusting. I only agree with killing when it's the last resort and not before. If you try every no kill method aand it don't work I get it you will have to kill it. Also depending on were some ppl live they forget the foxes we there way before them and we are encroaching on their homes.

 

[abraga]

Foxes will go into a kill frenzy when they are in a coop and the hens running crazy..especially youngsters. Its instinct. Weasles kill for the fun of doing it. I've lived in rural areas with chickens most of my life...ive seen some interesting behaviors. Once..i had a possum that came every other night and took two chickens at a time. All i would find in the morning was two chicken heads on the ground! It took 20 good sized birds in a month before i caught it in a trap. I was shocked it was a dang possum. It was humongous! It was also lucky...i drove out about 30 miles to a wildlife reserve and released it.

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

Foxes will go into a kill frenzy when they are in a coop and the hens running crazy..especially youngsters. Its instinct. Weasles kill for the fun of doing it. I've lived in rural areas with chickens most of my life...ive seen some interesting behaviors. Once..i had a possum that came every other night and took two chickens at a time. All i would find in the morning was two chicken heads on the ground! It took 20 good sized birds in a month before i caught it in a trap. I was shocked it was a dang possum. It was humongous! It was also lucky...i drove out about 30 miles to a wildlife reserve and released it.

Maybe when the hens run around in the coop in their panic maybe the fox panics to thus killing them. Hate to say it but maybe a gov study on the subject? As for the possum ya I have seen some big ones in 2007 my parents had 2 of our dogs living outside in a well populated area we left to spend a night at my adopted granddad's (he was our neighbour when I was younger and we adopted each other lol) me and my father went back to the house to find this huge possum dead in one of the sheds freaked me out cuz at first I thought it was still alive (stuck my head into the shed and was greeted by it). So ya some possums do get big and if he was taking all those chickens no wonder anything would be lol.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I hate to disagree with you, but many animals kill JUST for fun!

Domestic dogs are a number 1 in that category. It is 100% a game to them. I'm sorry if you don't know this.

Cats kill just for fun as well! My friends' cat is well fed and brings him humming birds with their head missing, other song birds it has caught and mice. It never eats a single one. And has been know to stake out a nest and kill every single chick/fledgling! This is one reason domestic cats are wreaking havoc in many places on the wildlife and wildlife experts are trying to fight it.

Here is a link to a very recent thread to prove to you that even though you don't think animals kill for fun, or haven't experienced it, in fact they DO... Mind you this dog was not guarding its own territory as my dogs were with their kills. Not that I think my dogs are above it! Prey drive in MANY domesticated animals is VERY strong.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/neighbors-dog-killed-hen-how-to-stay-on-good-terms.1177675/

Foxes will go into a kill frenzy when they are in a coop and the hens running crazy..especially youngsters. Its instinct. Weasles kill for the fun of doing it. I've lived in rural areas with chickens most of my life...ive seen some interesting behaviors. Once..i had a possum that came every other night and took two chickens at a time. All i would find in the morning was two chicken heads on the ground! It took 20 good sized birds in a month before i caught it in a trap. I was shocked it was a dang possum. It was humongous! It was also lucky...i drove out about 30 miles to a wildlife reserve and released it.

Did you in fact have permission to release the opossum into the wildlife reserve? Or just release it to fend for itself in another animals territory and kill off the wildlife in the reserve? Maybe good intention, bad reality for the animal.. and possibly the animals in the reserve as well as ILLEGAL if done so without permission! Also, may have been feeding babies, though opossum do carry the young in a pouch because they are marsupial. I'm sure that only last until a certain size.. but I only volunteered at a wildlife rehab center and while I learned a lot, there is MUCH more than that I don't know. But I do know that releasing animals in another location is illegal (in most areas) and possibly detrimental to both the residents and the intruder. If you had permission, that's great! Otherwise, I hope you will consider these facts before you face the situation again and choose to do the right thing.

Yep, you bet I'm passionate about wildlife! I respect it in all its' forms as well as know that even people who hunt to get meat naturally and animals on feed lots have it bad.. animals in the wild do NOT in any way have it easy. They must always look for food and often have tick or other parasites as well as being quite stinky. Besides, whether I agree with the laws of the land or not I try to abide by them (even the stupid speed limits in some places and using my taxes to support politicians' BS liberal agendas).

Anyways, were are all friends here sharing out different experiences and opinions as well as solutions. I pride myself on being a part of the *mostly* wonderful, helpful, caring community of BYC where I have always found a safe place for discussion even hotly debated ones!

 

[animalspooker]

Good morning.

I agree it was likely the fox.

Can I figure since your running around in your undies wielding a gun pop)... that when you say remove the coos and opossum, that you actually dispatch them and NOT relocate them?

I know some of my neighbors have caught a fox in their live trap, also first thing in the morning. Chances are your fox was back but watching from a distance. I would try the live trap followed up by a lead dinner. Though I have no personal experience with fox or other predators YET, my day is coming as I live in the beautiful PNW surrounded by the redwoods.

Sorry for your loss. Hope you get that sucker.

The coons and the opps are dispatched!

 

[animalspooker]

It is illegal to kill any animal indiscriminately, even snakes, here in Missouri. But killing in defense of your livestock, your own safety or to prevent property damage is allowed. There have been a number of mountain lions (which are extremely rare here) killed because a person thought they were in danger, and nothing happens to them. I do not agree with this. But if a fox is killing my girls, then I won't have a second thought or lose a minutes sleep about putting it down. There's just no place for it here on my little farm. Live traps are getting set tonight, hopefully I'll be fortunate enough to catch the predator real soon.