I'm back with an update regarding bobcat attacks. 2 days ago I lost 9 chickens in their pen. The culprits were a bobcat and kits. One chicken eaten, The rest just killed and left whole. Looks like kitten fun.
I reinforced the gate where the got in. Next am. still 3 chickens, but scared. This morning only 2 chickens left, one just disappeared. Saw big cat prints, no kitten prints. Tried to find where it entered. It seems to have come in through the top even though it is completely covered in shade cloth. It found a gap - in and out. The shade cloth was not meant to keep out bobcats, but hawks and owls. Who knew??
I feel I'm outsmarted at every turn and my poor feathery friends are paying the price with their lives and well being.
I have a couple of people coming out to see about hunting this group. I hate to do it, but they are now trained to be chicken, goose, duck killers and won't want to hunt more difficult natural prey. I have the survivors in a different pen, but it won't take them long to figure a way in there too since it is built in a similar way. My electric charger will not be here before Thursday.
I'm angry and discouraged and heartsick! I get up at night whenever I hear a sound from the pasture. Besides not sleeping well DH and I have bronchitis and are both miserable. When it rains, it pours!
I would put out live traps as well as leg traps in the area you think the predator is getting in at and after I caught the critter I would shoot it. I have killed many predators that have killed my chickens and I don't feel bad about it.
The second Saturday in January at the Columbia County Fairgrounds Auditorium is the Florida Sunshine Classic Poultry Show. There are a lot of people form all over that come to show their birds.
