Devastated after first predator attack. Looking for support.

[Altairsky]

If something happened to my chickens (which I know it's just a matter of time since they free range, and my neighbor already lost his entire flock to a fox last year), I would immediately put all their latest eggs in the incubator. As long as their genes are around, they're never really dead. I always keep a bunch of the most recent eggs that I never eat, and those are my flock's life insurance.
In chicken keeping these things happen and they happen quite often, so one has to be mentally ready for the worst, and always hoping for the best.

 

[Project Blue]

View attachment 3897628Hi everyone. I don’t usually turn to the internet for emotional support but I am feeling especially low right now. A predator (I believe a fox) decimated my entire flock, all except one, while I was gone for 3 hours this morning.

I have a run setup, but since it’s dirt, I would let them out to free range when I was at home. Since I was only going to be gone a short while this morning, and in my 2.5 years of keeping chickens I’ve never had a run in with a predator, I thought it would be fine to let them out unsupervised for a few hours. When I got home I noticed my roosters feather’s EVERYWHERE, along with a handful of feathers from my white hen. We found my white hen in the woods gravely injured and had to put her down because we couldn’t save her. Shortly after, a distance away, we found my rooster’s decapitated head - no body.

I had 5 chickens total, one rooster and 4 hens. I only found evidence of my white hen and rooster being attacked, no other feathers anywhere so I’m a little hopeful we may have some more survivors. It seems my rooster put up a fight, nearly every feather he had is strewn about my yard now.

Hours after we found the incident I had a feeling to go outside and check again, where I found one lone hen back by the coop. She’s unscathed but very shaken up. I’m glad she made it, but having one hen complicates things because I know they are flock animals. I really hope the other two are out there but I’m trying to be practical because I know it’s just as likely that they could have been killed as well.

My heart hurts. I’m so upset to know that the last time I heard my rooster crow would be the last time I’d ever hear him. I know I’m not the first person this has happened to and unfortunately I won’t be the last, but I am devastated. I lost not only a rooster that I bred and hatched, but my original girls from the very first batch of chicks I ever brought home that started my chicken journey. I don’t know where to pick up the pieces. How do you move on from something like this?

Photo of my Roo who fought so bravely. I hope he didn’t suffer.

Thank you.

I doubt it was a fox. They usually grab one chicken and run away with it. Most wildlife predators are extremely secretive. A big daytime mess would probably be a dog. Once they start killing chickens they'll be back. I recently lost my entire flock from 20 years of breeding my own line of Ameraucanas. I feel your pain and was ready to give up raising chickens. My dear husband went to the feed store and brought home some chicks. For about 2 seconds I was even sadder and annoyed but darn it, they pull you back. Pretty much 21 days later I hatched eggs from my original birds, something you might consider doing. The shook up hen might lay fertile eggs for a couple of weeks. She probably lived because the roo fought whatever was after them. Sorry this happened to you and good luck in whatever you decide to do.

 

[Altairsky]

I doubt it was a fox. They usually grab one chicken and run away with it.

We don't have raccoons where I live. My grandma lost her entire flock of 40 to a fox, and my neighbor also lost his entire flock to a fox.