cheekychick3
Songster
Hi First like to say, how sorry to hear your sad news. We to lost 16 i bred, 7yrs
before that. But it was a fox, my own stupidity, as one night i did not lock them in their
coops. Hated myself as 7yrs without fail, i did. Our daughter had come over and stayed
late. We never even knew there was foxes around here. He got over a 6ft wall, and killed
them all. The worse site for us, was they were scattered everywhere. Plus some in the coops.Where my girls were to heavy, he could not get them back over. It was defo a
fox. It was only this year, my husband + boys built a double large coop, with huge run,
with enclosed roof. Even though it is fox proof, i still lock them up. every night. Never
want to go through that ever again. Like others and yorself have said, i do not think
it was your dogs. Especially having access to the ducks. Sounds like a fox, i agree as
well, you will not see a dog eat a chicken. Unless it was if they were really hungry.
They normally let go once there is no more movement. I know the fox who had ours,
would have taken them, probably to feed their cubs. You said one of your neighbours has been feeding them. If she hears your news, i wonder how she will feel. That is why i
think it was a fox. But you have also seen a coyete. One or the other, but not your dogs. They would have had blood feathers ect, well some evidence. If it had even been
one of them, they would have attacked the one in the bush. But they never. They were
probably telling the hen to get home. bless them. So happy you found her, safe and sound. My heart goes out to you, as it is not nice at all, to experience. Like so many
of us have on here. Keep us all updated, although it sounds a silly thing to tell you.
Stay strong, or try your best too.
before that. But it was a fox, my own stupidity, as one night i did not lock them in their
coops. Hated myself as 7yrs without fail, i did. Our daughter had come over and stayed
late. We never even knew there was foxes around here. He got over a 6ft wall, and killed
them all. The worse site for us, was they were scattered everywhere. Plus some in the coops.Where my girls were to heavy, he could not get them back over. It was defo a
fox. It was only this year, my husband + boys built a double large coop, with huge run,
with enclosed roof. Even though it is fox proof, i still lock them up. every night. Never
want to go through that ever again. Like others and yorself have said, i do not think
it was your dogs. Especially having access to the ducks. Sounds like a fox, i agree as
well, you will not see a dog eat a chicken. Unless it was if they were really hungry.
They normally let go once there is no more movement. I know the fox who had ours,
would have taken them, probably to feed their cubs. You said one of your neighbours has been feeding them. If she hears your news, i wonder how she will feel. That is why i
think it was a fox. But you have also seen a coyete. One or the other, but not your dogs. They would have had blood feathers ect, well some evidence. If it had even been
one of them, they would have attacked the one in the bush. But they never. They were
probably telling the hen to get home. bless them. So happy you found her, safe and sound. My heart goes out to you, as it is not nice at all, to experience. Like so many
of us have on here. Keep us all updated, although it sounds a silly thing to tell you.
Stay strong, or try your best too.
Try treats in the coop at night. I do it and the youngster run into their coops for their treats. Recently I lost my precious Gladys while free ranging to a fox and just prior I lost a couple of other birds. I hadn't lost a bird to a predator in several years. I do blame myself for loosing Gladys but not the other two because they were locked in their coop and pen. Somehow a gate was opened. When I discovered that two birds were missing and then found the piles of feathers, I wired the gates shut. I have a piece of wire on the inside on the gate that was opened and the gate opens out so the wire is always on the inside of the gate. Well the next morning I discovered the gate had been messed with again and somehow the wire that was on the inside of the gate was now on the outside of it. The predator had to put a good force to the gate to get it past the wire. I had been seeing a fox lurking around that coop and pen on a game camera. Unfortunately the nights in question it was foggy so I couldn't see the gate but the fox did get close enough to the camera that I saw it. I have been seeing it quite a bit. This was the pen that the predator had gotten the gate open. I have seen a fox and coyote there so they are the prime suspects. Since I have moved those birds to another coop but now have chicks in this one but I have been closing the pop door at night.
