Game camera pix of killer; need police work

[natemoore1986]

I lost a chicken the other day. I put out my two game cameras out the night before last. Nothing on the camera the first night, but early this morning at 4:33 I got two shots. They're not very good, but maybe someone can recognize the silhouette. I need to move the camera further away from the coop next time.

The camera's lens was about a foot off the ground and maybe two feet from the chicken wire fence.

 

[natemoore1986]

I installed a motion sensing light the day after the attack, so I think it may be interfering with the functioning of the camera. Tonight I'll turn the lights off and reposition my two game cameras.

 

[JanetS]

Was your chicken free ranging or in the coop/run? Can't tell from the picture what it is. Maybe a raccoon??

 

[natemoore1986]

Was your chicken free ranging or in the coop/run? Can't tell from the picture what it is. Maybe a raccoon??

They've got a 6' x 9' coop, and an additional area twice that size that's fenced in. I'm thinking raccoon too based on how the back is arched and the ear is big, unlike a possum, that is more straight backed and has small ears.

I'm think of ways to trap him inside the coop (the roost has a locked door and is predator-proof). Maybe an opening like one that is used on a crab trap made out of hardware cloth. Easy to squeeze through one way, but quite difficult going the other way.

 

[natemoore1986]

It was a cat!

 

[JanetS]

So do you think it was the cat that got your chicken? How old are they? Did the cat get into the pen or were they free ranging? From the pictures, it looks like you are using chicken wire. Chicken wire is not strong enough to keep out most predators. Hardware cloth is a lot stronger.

 

[natemoore1986]

So do you think it was the cat that got your chicken? How old are they? Did the cat get into the pen or were they free ranging? From the pictures, it looks like you are using chicken wire. Chicken wire is not strong enough to keep out most predators. Hardware cloth is a lot stronger.

Here's my coop. Pretty much a fortress, if I shut the hatch at night (which I'm doing now, always). Chicken wire is just to keep chickens in their backyard during the day. Six foot privacy fence around my yard and frequent inspections keeps the coyotes out and my dogs in. Hens are grown.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/695892/some-pictures-of-my-walk-in-chicken-coop