Feel like quitting!! My gorgeous bourbon red stag 'Clyde' killed and stolen.

[Lone Wolf]

I am so sorry! I can only imagine how awful that would feel!

 

[JanetS]

So sorry for your loss. We just lost a chicken to a bobcat attack. Don't know if its worth all the upset to keep chickens anymore. We were thinking of getting more in the spring but I just don't know. Good luck with what ever you decide to do.

 

[leighwb]

A bobcat snuck in through the smallest space I can imagine between the fencing and the roof to take half my flock night before last. The bobcat left 12 dead
We left the opening for ventilation and thought it too narrow for any of our mountain predators to fit through...boy were we wrong! Coyotes grabbed 2 a couple of weeks ago right out of the coup at dusk, but they at least carried off what they killed. (We free range, but the flock was staying close to the coop with the snow and cold.) I now have a fence around the area to protect them. That didn't stop the bobcat, though. The cat left my coop looking like a war zone. Does anyone know if I can process them for the freezer if they died from such an attack and then froze to death? It's -0. Can I thaw, pluck, etc, and refreeze or do I need to cook before freezing? I'm still reeling from this carnage. I'm a first time mommy...raised them from chicks.
One of my little Old English hens that survived the attack is showing signs of injury. She is hunched and beak is partly open like she is having trouble breathing. There is blood on her neck behind her ear. I examined the wound as best I could, but can't determine how deep it is. She is no better today. Should I bring her inside to the porch area. It's a bit warmer than the coop and I can give her a nice soft pine bed and protection from our indoor cat there. I've never rehabbed a chicken before...advise?