Devestation

[dodgewoman]

We susally check on our chickens in the am before we go off and do what we need to do. Today however we were leaving early and we did not. We heard our older ones clucking away so we thought all was good. NOT THE CASE. we came home to check on them and our chicks who were about 10 weeks old were all gone! Just feathers! We have our run separated and a separate coop for the new chicks. The was a small hole dig under the hardware cloth about 10-12" across. It was big at all. It took all 15!!!! No trace of any of them. Our ten older glas are all prefectly fine! Of course right cause I was replacing the old flock with these gals. What the heck would make such a small hole and cause so much devastation with out any trace other then feathers? Fox? Fisher cat? Skunk? Although my resident skunk usually goes after my eggs in the big coop and leave the chickens alone. I'm beside myself. I had finally ordered some fancy chickens for myself and now this. 5 years and this is the first time

 

[PD-Riverman]

We susally check on our chickens in the am before we go off and do what we need to do. Today however we were leaving early and we did not. We heard our older ones clucking away so we thought all was good. NOT THE CASE. we came home to check on them and our chicks who were about 10 weeks old were all gone! Just feathers! We have our run separated and a separate coop for the new chicks. The was a small hole dig under the hardware cloth about 10-12" across. It was big at all. It took all 15!!!! No trace of any of them. Our ten older glas are all prefectly fine! Of course right cause I was replacing the old flock with these gals. What the heck would make such a small hole and cause so much devastation with out any trace other then feathers? Fox? Fisher cat? Skunk? Although my resident skunk usually goes after my eggs in the big coop and leave the chickens alone. I'm beside myself. I had finally ordered some fancy chickens for myself and now this. 5 years and this is the first time

Mercy, Sorry. Should have been some tracks being all were gone?

 

[SueT]

): could be any of those, and it may be back....

 

[meetthebubus]

So sorry that's horrible

 

[dodgewoman]

Yes. All we gone. No sign of anything in the back woods behind the coop! No tracks, we even examined the fence to see if we could see fur pulled off, nada. It's crazy! I've never heard of anything taking that many at once!

I don't know what to do now. We threw some heavy rocks around the back and sprayed pest away(works for the skunk) but I'm not sure that'll help if it wants my others. What precautions can I take to hope it doesn't happen again. I want to replace them but I don't know if I can take this sort of devastation again.

 

[LadyCluck77]

Sounds like coyotes. They tend to dig a small hole, arrive in groups, and will just take as many as they can. I had a pair of them take all of my cockerels two years ago.

http://articles.extension.org/pages/71204/predator-management-for-small-and-backyard-poultry-flocks

 

[Top Rooster]

Sorry, that's got to be super frustrating. Set traps, it works the best I had a raccoon pull a hen out of her nest the other night by prying it open and all that was left was feathers, she was a week on her eggs. All her eggs died because I didn't have an incubator or another broody hen. That night I set a trap, the next morning I had a big raccoon.

 

[LadyCluck77]

I wanted to add that we installed a motion sensor light pointed at our layer coop, and that has helped a lot. No attacks since, but we still hear them yapping sometimes at night, so they haven't gone too far, unfortunately.

 

[AuntJamie]

Terrible. Hope you get it figured out.

 

[PD-Riverman]

Here the bobcats seem to take the most. Is it possible that something got 1 or 2 and the others have wandered off----or do you feel there is enough feathers---that the whole number were taken?