Ghost predator is wiping out my flock. Help!

[PeepsAreForMe]

I'm sorry for your losses. Can you show us photos of your set-up? Do you lock them up at night?

 

[joelman7]

good luck finding it

 

[bumpercarr]

Try setting your game camera on video if it is available. Although it will eat up the batteries, there isn't as much of a delay and there isn't a "click" sound when the camera starts taping. I've had mine set up on photo with a 15 second delay for almost 2 weeks and couldn't catch anything on camera. When I put it in video mode, I caught the rascals (raccoons). I probably would have stopped trapping after catching one if I hadn't seen that there were 2 others on the video. I hadn't lost any chickens, but my coop is very, very secure. They would have had a really hard time getting into it. Mesh everywhere, under the bottom, around the sides and a solid roof and door. I lock them up every night so hopefully nothing will get them.

 

[Jungleexplorer]

I'm sorry for your losses. Can you show us photos of your set-up? Do you lock them up at night?

I only have my young pullets in a caged. They stay caged 24/7. The rest of my flock is free range and sleep in a large movable coop that I move to different location where I grow forage crops like wheat, oats and milo ( or grain sorghum). I raised about fifty pullets this summer (all gamefowl). About 20 of them were females and 30 were males. The funny thing is that this predator has only gone after the pullets and not the cockerels. Both were free ranging when this started and when I saw the pattern of it killing pullets, I locked all the pullets in the cage for protection. Now get this; there are five cockerels the roost on top of the cage on the outside. It would be easy as pie for the the predator to get them ( I would not mind, I have 30 and want to get rid of them anyways), but it has never gone after them. So here is the situation. I have one large with coop about 30 adult hens and roosters and 30 cockerels that roost in another small coop and some that rooster in the wide open. The predator could to get to all of these, but instead it has only gone after the pullets in the cage that it can't really get to accept for the ones that were roosting close to the edge, and just a few feet a way in the wide open are five cockerels that it totally ignores.

This thing is a real demon! I worked all summer to raise this flock to get these hens, and it has already killed 8 of my 20 game hens, and 2 of my 3 cubalaya hens. The Cubalaya hens were a real loss because they are very rare and I was going to use these three to build a flock of them next spring. I have three cubalaya cockerels, but one hen is not enough to do anything with (if it survives the winter). I want to get away from gamefowl and that is why I want these cubalayas so bad. Gamefowl are great free rangers and that is what I wanted them for (to reduce feed cost), but they are the worst eating bird I have ever tasted. That is why these 30 game cockerels are still running around, they are not worth eating. If there were, they would be in the freezer. But the cubalayas are said to have gourmet quality meat, and are decent layers and great free range foragers.

There is a monthly flea market that occurs tomorrow and there is always chickens for sale. One old lady there sales a lot of chickens from local farms and I am going to talk to her tomorrow and see if she knows anyone who has cubalayas. I would trade all my cockerels to for a few good cubalaya hens. Here is hoping!

 

[polskituft]

sorry about your chickens

 

[Jungleexplorer]

Well, no luck at the flea market. The lady said she has never heard of anyone razing cubalayas in this area. What do I do now? Anyone want to trade some Cubalaya hens for for some beautiful Game Roosters? I'll pay for shipping.

Just look at this Black Breasted Red (I have 20 like him). Come on, you know you want him.

 

[Jungleexplorer]

Caught the ghost on camera! At least I think it might the ghost. Just checked my my trail cams and got these shots.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Did you say the triangles are 3.5 inches tall? That is plenty big enough for a rat or a small coons to get into. Prob a rat or weasel since its going for the small and less defensive. They kill them then try to drag the carcass off. It prob ate what it wanted and left what couldn't fit though the pen. Skunks also kill and eat the head and guts. I would opt to say you have a small coon killer since you said you get plenty of pics of racoons. Best bet...give a coon hunter permission to dwindle the numbers, lay out some rat poison. Get a tighter fence too. Tough luck.

 

[centrarchid]

Gray Fox. What is it carrying?

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

A chicken of course!?