- Jun 27, 2012
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My chickens, a flock of about 100 and 4 ducks usually run free ranged on my 1 acre plot. I let them out at 10 a.m. and they all go in around dusk or before(depending on weather). Tonight my family and I were out all day. We came home around 10 minutes after 9. It was still light out. My dad was bringing stuff in from our van and said they were roosting in the trees. Which they NEVER do and the fact it was after 9 p.m a time they're already inside, it was odd behavior. I went outside and called to them and they wouldn't move. ALL of my chickens are HIGHLY well trained to come when called. They were wandering around kind of dazed. I got a bad feeling and wen in the coop and it was basically barren. I have a pen for the teenage babies who aren't yet big enough to be let out in the flock and so the old ones will get used to them. I walked in and there were chickens pulled through the chicken wire, a wing was in the middle of floor outside the pen. Bodies were everywhere. Yet the wire and everything was completely untouched. Some were in the corner of the pen alive but injured badly. One of my sister's silkies had it's whole left side missing, feathers were all over the yard around our house 360. And to mention this all happened in a 30 to 45 minute time period. I had OVER 20 chickens in the pen. We only had 10 accounted for dead. and about 7 now left in the pen. OVER 20 are missing. 2 modern game standards are missing. I just want to know WHAT kind of animal would go in and holocaustly slaughter half our flock in a short time period. I understand maybe 1 or 2 or even 3. The nest boxes are directly next to the pen and we have 2 broodie hens RIGHT next to it and were completely untouched. Now does that make sense? An easy meal sitting there but whatever creatures had to work to attack the babies in the pen. Has this happened to anyone? It wasn't a bear. No evidence of bear anywhere. Anyways a bear would've torn the pen apart and not pull em through the holes. We were thinking racoons. But to slaughter over 50 in ONE night.
Also to mention VDOT(Virginia Department Of Transportation) has been tearing up land all around for a creek bridge. They have removed hundreds of animals from their habitat and they're migrating towards farmers and their livestock.
I just want to know if this has happened to anyone before, A mass murder, not from bear, but from racoons. I'm in mental shock at all this.
Also to mention VDOT(Virginia Department Of Transportation) has been tearing up land all around for a creek bridge. They have removed hundreds of animals from their habitat and they're migrating towards farmers and their livestock.
I just want to know if this has happened to anyone before, A mass murder, not from bear, but from racoons. I'm in mental shock at all this.
