GAHHH!!!! THe batcholor pad was dug under!!!

[silkiechicken]

That's the plan, L wire the runs. I just despise pulling it all up after the grass grows though it though. I have to move the things so I can grow the garden under them. As for foxes here, don't think that I've ever seen one, heard one or historically had any in this area. Between the 1940's and 1970's my grandpa ran a chicken farm out here and never lost a bird to a fox either. Just coons.

It's always a possibility though, just by what I see though I say it was coon or family of possum.

I was gong to butcher the two roos in a few weeks too!!! Oh well.

 

[newchickowner]

You're in Washington State? Then there are foxes there. I don't know how urban your area is, maybe too urban for a fox, but in the rural areas for sure.

 

[eggchel]

To make the wire easier to pull it up later, you could put weed cloth, plastic, cardboard scraps, or even a thick layer of newspaper under the wire to prevent the weeds from growing through it.



Chel

 

[silkiechicken]

Ah, yes that would be a good idea. Already done though so I'll leave it be. I put plastic down over some grass in my garden... and next thing I knew I had rat's under it!!!

As for foxes, historically this is within their range but I don't think it was them. The closest fox is probably east or north about 30 miles.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

silkiechicken, sorry for your loss.

Your neck of the non-woods sounds like mine. We don't have much other than coons, possums, and skunks.

I was so paranoid of coons and their clever / determined ways that I actually laid chain link fence under my entire run. My concern is that I've not got a possibly false sense of security and that they may find some other way in. I just HATE coons!

 

[silkiechicken]

I wish I could reasonably run wire under all my pens but then that would defeat the purpose of my pens! They are to be moved for purposes of "tilling" and prepping the garden plots! It is ok though. I come to terms with the loss so vengeance will be mine.

 

[Queen of the Lilliputians]

First, sorry for your loss! That stinks!

What about a fisher cat? I admit I don't know much about them, except that they are in the weasel family, and quite nasty. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_(animal)

And I didn't even know we had them! Seriously! I looked it up <my cousin traps them for a living in MA>, and they are out here, too. Then I saw one in someone's yard, broad daylight.

Honestly, I don't EVER see anything around here. I live in the boonies (really) and the only skunk I've seen was a baby my dog killed

although I know they are around because he gets sprayed every summer. The raccoons don't get our trash, and we never see them (although I'm sure they are around, too). We do hear the coyotes at night sometimes, though.. I think our wildlife just have plenty of room to spread out, so except for the wild turkeys, deer, and an occasional moose, we don't see much.

Good luck, and I hope you figure out who it was!

-Meghan

 

[silkiechicken]

Aren't fisher cats a eastern US thing?

Well, today I went out the newly ground laid wire and what did I see???? very rats or something had dug two tunnels under the wires to the main tractor!!! They like backtracked!!! I thought that wasn't supposed to happen!!! There are about 18 iches back from the bottom!!!

That's it... I gotta step this war up. un

 

[SpottedCrow]

Bummer on your birdies...
This is a link on fisher cats.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_(animal)

 

[Queen of the Lilliputians]

According to the link the fisher cats stretch across the entire US to Calif, but not sure if you have them where you are.

Sounds like you figured out the issue. Darn RATS!

Meghan