Fighting two predators, lost some hens...I also

[flyin-lowe]

Three nights ago I saw a fresh hole under my coop while mowing the yard. A year or so ago I had a skunk peel back the hardware cloth I have screwed to the bottom and get under the coop so I assumed the same had happened again. I set a trap three nights ago and caught a skunk. I hauled it off but did not cover the hole because I wasn't sure if there was wnother skunk or not so I set the trap again. That night nothing in the trap buy I had 6 dead hens, mostly with their heads and necks chewed off. It looked to me like a weasle. I had to work 17 hours yesterday and didn't get home until midnight and this morning there was 4 more dead, same injuries, heads and neck a chewed up. I think that a weasel was able to get in via the hole under the coop from the skunk. For years I have always had an open pop door because nothing has gotten into the run. I know skunks will kill hens but I don't think they would climb up or have a way to get them off the roost, plus there was no skunk smell in the coop and I figure if there was a scuffle in there it would have sprayed at some point. Would skunks attack hens over night like I described or does that sound like a weasel to you?

This afternoon I go out to try to see what was going on and shined a light under the coop and could see a skunk. I went into the run and secured the area along the bottom with welded wire an drew treated 4x8's. As I was filling in the area in the run I noticed a skunk walking across my yard in the daylight so I assume I flushed it out. I took care of that skunk and set a trap near the original hole to make sure there is nothing else under there. I also sealed the pop door off tonight until I can make sure there are no knew holes and I have it sealed off again. I also swear I saw a brown egg under the coop where the skunk was. Is it possible a skunk could have gotten an egg from the coop to under the coop without breaking it? Time will tell if I have it sealed up properly and hopefully all the skunks are out.

 

[el polo froggo]

This may take some work- but I suggest putting bricks under the gate and wall of the chicken coup. Maybe place another row right outside the coup for extra protection.

 

[el polo froggo]

This may take some work- but I suggest putting bricks under the gate and wall of the chicken coup. Maybe place another row right outside the coup for extra protection.

I also suggest using a trap- but not a rodent trap because a skunk could easily run away or get out of the trap.

 

[azygous]

Good luck. Dealing with predators is a tedious job. A lot of it is trial and error, unfortunately, and chickens end up getting killed while we try to figure things out.

It sounds like one thing that would be helpful is to bury an apron of hardware cloth at a 45 degree angle toward the outside. That way, a skunk or other digging animal, even a dog, will dig down and encounter the wire and will be frustrated into going any further under the foundation.

 

[flyin-lowe]

When I built the coop I put welded wire fence under the bottom of the run all the way around. I didn't put any under the coop itself however I stapled HC cloth to it and bent it down to the ground and covered it with rock. Not sure how the skunk was able to pull a section of the HC cloth down but it did. LiVe and learn.

 

[el polo froggo]

When I built the coop I put welded wire fence under the bottom of the run all the way around. I didn't put any under the coop itself however I stapled HC cloth to it and bent it down to the ground and covered it with rock. Not sure how the skunk was able to pull a section of the HC cloth down but it did. LiVe and learn.

Odd. I recommend visiting a supply store or someone who specialized in animal extermination.

 

[PetitePlume]

If you think it could be a weasel, you could set a rat trap in a box wih a little piece of meat for bait. The hole doesn't have to be bigger than 11/2" even 1 inch should do it. Narrow but long and high ish box, just so the trap can do its job. They die quick (bait on yhe side of the hole). If it's an other animal, the box will prevent it from getting in there and get wounded. Weasels are curious and the dark hole will attract it. Your hens weren't all killed? I don't know in your area but up here a weasel or member of the family would have kill them all (depending on how many, maybe not 40)... Hope you can figure who is the responsible for your chicken loss...

 

[The Dapper Duck]

Yea, I think a skunk could snag an egg and take it away to eat it. We used to have a nest thief in our yard that would take the eggs under the house to eat them, well away from where the girls were laying. Do nightly sweeps for eggs so if the next one comes strolling by there isn't anything to attract them.

 

[flyin-lowe]

I had 15 hens total and lost 10. I noticed as I was working last night one of the remaining hens had an injury to it's neck so it escaped somehow.
Am I correct in assuming that a skunk would not be able to get chickens that were roosting a couple feet off the ground with no ladder? I have never seen the results of a skunk attack and don't know what type of damage they do to hens if they do eat them, or are they more of a scavenger??

 

[BreanneRN]

Skunks mostly don't climb but are prodigious diggers. However, one gets into the henhouse, it can spray and drive the chickens down and out. They are perfectly capable of going up those ramps and into the houses and they love to find and eat the eggs and kill the chickens too Raccoons, though, are a triple threat, and champion climbers, but don't dig so much, but can squeeze through seemingly tiny holes and go under gates with 2 to 3 inches of clearance, and are strong enough to break or overcome latches with their tiny "hands".