first lost chick to unknown predator

[pwesepolis]

I recently lost one chick out of two ~~~

I live in a urban-suburban area so my flock scale is small... The animal broke in from a really narrow opening from the edge of coop where the poultry net was not enough secured, the second morning I found that the chick was dragged out of the coop, guts gone...

so we doubled the net, more nails, etc.

we set up a trap with baits tied to the cage with copper wire, it came back every 2-3 days, dragging and flipping the trap, eat the baits and walk away. we have no idea what it is.

can we poison it? or just secure the coop good enough so that one day it will stop trying?

 

[iwiw60]

I recently lost one chick out of two ~~~

I live in a urban-suburban area so my flock scale is small... The animal broke in from a really narrow opening from the edge of coop where the poultry net was not enough secured, the second morning I found that the chick was dragged out of the coop, guts gone...

so we doubled the net, more nails, etc.

we set up a trap with baits tied to the cage with copper wire, it came back every 2-3 days, dragging and flipping the trap, eat the baits and walk away. we have no idea what it is.

can we poison it? or just secure the coop good enough so that one day it will stop trying?

So sorry for your loss. You say "poultry net" ... exactly what type of wire are you using? Pictures would be nice to help you more. If you have known predators in your area the first thing I would tell you is only use 1/2" hardware cloth. Anything else is childs play to a raccoon, weasel, coyote, etc. They can tear through chicken wire like it's butter.

 

[ChickenPapaCT]

If it is big enough to drag and flip a trap that is tied down with copper wire, you may need a bigger trap!

Maybe you should set-up a trailcam to see what you are dealing with.... If you can't borrow one don't have one, put some white paper down around the coop area. Maybe you will get lucky and get a foot-print or two.

ChickenPapaCT