Hearing a Neighbors Flock Being Attacked

[centrarchid]

More than one way to kill chickens when it comes to predators. One is have predators kill birds outright, other is to protect birds to death. I go both extremes but with latter when wanting birds to reach desired advanced ages, I back off on the love a little. Tight confinement puts you in the realm of using either production flock formulations not formulated for advanced age classes or get where things like becoming egg-bound, crop-bound, prolapsed or bumble-foot come into play. Advanced age is in the > 5 years bracket which I can realize with free-range birds under good predator management. Not all make but at least a few can exceed 10 years once the brake into the lower part of the bracket. Confinement you will find produces a different suite of health issues than free-range yet both can result in dead birds.

 

[Henna56]

i don't like locking them up either- I agree, tight confinement would just be another way to kill them

 

[centrarchid]

Today when heading to work this morning I saw a large white dead bird in a pasture no more than 100 yards from my property boundary. Location is well with range my dogs patrol. Upon close inspection it was apparent bird died some time ago and was moved from that location last night. Death appears to predate the cold snap that started about two weeks ago. It is a Cornish X but well past market size. Dogs were no interested in it. I did not know of anyone in the area with Cornish X so set out to find the owner. Initially I assumed it came from neighbors referenced at the beginning of this thread. In reality it proved to be another closer neighbor I know that did not let birds out until today. Seeing they had them out I reported to them the dead bird. They promptly went out to do a head count and indicated all Cornish X were accounted for. Then I asked if they lost any lately and they said they lost one. The mort thrown over the fence into a neighbors patch of weeds. Last night something found carcass and tried to move it but had to abandon effort where I found it. Neighbor then took me into his rather fancy coop that contains about 40 birds where the smallest is larger than my biggest American Dominique cock. In with flock as a young adult Bronze Turkey jake. The hens were cannibalizing him. I pointed this out and gave directions to isolate jake. Failure to do so will result in deathlos very quickly. Density of birds too high and ration for hens / pullets appears to lean with respect to protein. Then I set out to find neighbors suffering the losses previously and I actually found them. I related to them by observations a couple of months ago and appeared surprised I could hear what was going on. Three raccoons had gotten in a thinned their flock a bit. They noted my dog at my feet and where also surprised to hear he is the reason I can keep birds free-range as I do. He kills raccoons pretty well. I may ask to take Scoob on a coon hunt sometime behind their place. We seem to have gotten all of ours.