Has anyone had success with deer cams? *updated with pics!*

[NicInNC]

A few nights ago, I found one of my chickens decapitated and drug up under the building partway. I couldn't find the head anywhere. Then yesterday when I went in the coop to feed the chickens, there was another decapitated one in there with feathers from another one all over the place. The 2nd dead one had been ripped open on one side. I never did find the heads.

We have skunks BAD. We've already trapped 3. They haven't worried me too much cause they were only eating the eggs and digging up our yard for grubs. Last night I had the chickens closed up pretty tight and we woke up at 4am with our dogs going nuts and the entire house smelling like skunk, so I don't know if they sprayed the neighbors dog or if they got ticked off cause they couldn't get in the coop. The skunks live up under our coop. We've buried fencing about 2 feet underground and they just dig deeper and come out the other side. I got my camera today, stuck it up under the coop and started snapping pics. The dirt is all dug up around the sides and what looks like a small den in the center. I tried sticking poles into the hole, but they didn't go far and nothing came out.

Nothing has touched the eggs left out for a long time. That's why I don't think it's a skunk. There are also foxes all over, but I don't see an area big enough that a fox could have gotten in the coop.

We are setting up a deer cam tonight. I'm going to aim it towards the door of the coop. I still don't know if I'm going to take the chance of leaving the trap door open to the coop (we always used to) or close them up. I'm just wondering if any of you have ever had success catching predators on a deer cam.

 

[redsoxs]

Lots of folks on BYC have had experiences like you and posted game cams to see what was menacing their birds. Below is a thread dedicated to it (and there are probably others). Good luck to you.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/438535/post-your-game-cam-pics-here

 

[heronz]

I am thinking about getting one as well.

 

[JanetS]

Yes, we have two. This raccoon is a nightly visitor so our chickens are locked up safe.

 

[NicInNC]

Well, we caught someone on video the night before last. Will possums rip the heads off chickens though?

 

[patty12]

shot, I read your title and thought you cought a real live human person pull the head off of your chicken. Yes a possioum would take the heads off or any where else that was handy but sounds like a blood sucker animal like a skunk or weasel perhaps a mink.
I see you are North carolina so you should have all 3 around you back in the woods. actully the possioum feeds on dead animal more than live animal.

 

[NicInNC]

I've got an update and I'm at a loss as to what I should do next. So we caught the opossum on the deer cam. The night before last, we set 2 traps with cat food. Never caught a darn thing. Yesterday we came home from the store and as we were pulling into the driveway, my teenage daughter started screaming and yelling and she jumped out of the car as we were still moving. There was a HUGE opossum on the neighbors fence just sitting there like it was dead. We were all screaming at the top of our lungs as I got a laundry basket and a broom. I managed to get it off the fence and into the basket. the thing played dead except for when we would blow on it or go near it. Then it would open its mouth huge. Animal control came out and took it to relocate it at a swamp about 15 miles away. I thought our problem was solved.

Today the chickens were free ranging and they all headed in around 7pm. They were all in there. I just went out about an hour ago to lock their coop up and one of my banties was shredded to pieces in there. There were feathers drug all out up under the coop and it's all dug up around the bottom of the coop. I took pictures of up under the coop so you can see what the critter has done. You can see a hole going down into the ground and the rest of the dirt has formed a large mound.

WHAT would be killing all of my chickens INSIDE of the coop?! This ones stomach and chest was all eaten away. 2 of the others that were killed a couple weeks ago weren't touched except for being decapitated. Then earlier in the week, another was killed and its lower body was ripped open but it didn't look like it was eaten.

Do you think I'm dealing with the same predator or a number of different ones? I just set another trap with salmon flavored cat food.

I'm attaching pics of the underneath of the coop Do you see in the 2nd how it looks like tunnels built up?

 

[NicInNC]

Here's the guy I caught with the broom and laundry basket:

 

[Mattemma]

OK, I guess I need a bit more coffee,because I was thinking you caught a man on cam at your coop with a broom and laundry basket,lol.In my defense people do weird stuff!

Keep traps set and cams rolling. I caught over 40 possums and coons,and I never see any of them prior to trapping. I did not think our suburb lots could maintain that many.

Here's the guy I caught with the broom and laundry basket:

 

[NicInNC]

lol @ you thinking I caught a man with a broom and a laundry basket. lol!

I got up this morning and the neighbors cat was in the trap. *sigh* I really don't think it's the culprit being as it hangs out with the chickens all the time during the day. Heck, the chickens have even chased it off numerous times.