Heartbroken after losing 75+ birds, 2 turkeys, & 10 ducks.

[EggWalrus]

Along the lines of what @morganalefae was saying, instead of doing all that digging to bury the hardware cloth you can just bring it out away from the fence line (like an apron) and use landscaping pins to hold it to the ground. Eventually the grass will grow through it, you won't even see the fence and you can mow right over it. That will save you so much time and will spare you a lot of aches and pains! You can see in this picture where I had just finished replacing my woven wire fence with hardware cloth, how it is lying flat over the ground. In just a few months it looked like the far right end where the grass had already grown through the hardware cloth. I brought mine out 18".
View attachment 1529338
Also, I would use U-nails to secure any fence or hardware cloth to your coop. I've heard stories of big raccoons pushing or pulling through fence that was only stapled.

Is that really your Set Up or is that a pic of Fort Leavenworth Military Prison?

 

[centrarchid]

Fence in coop area immediately. Keep remaining chickens in a coop at least your head high so dogs / coyotes cannot see them as if former, they will go great lengths to get in again. If you did not see perp, then make no assumptions.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

I can’t imagine how crippling it feels to lose almost your entire flock in one night! I am so so sorry!! Bear hugs to you and your traumatized survivors.

For now, I would definitely put your living hens in a secure predator proof location until a new set up is armed and ready. Good luck!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I think putting up electric fencing around your coop/run would give you the most protection. That is easy to do; no man needed!

An electric fence, properly installed will exclude coyotes, foxes, bobcats, and fido from your property. It is my long experience that to kill a chicken the predator must first gain access to the pen, coop, yard, walk, or run and then get up close and personal with your chickens to make a kill. Electric fences are very good at separating vermin from from chickens, and keeping them separated. I have yet to lose a chicken because a predator "sniped" that lost bird.

 

[cmom]

Oh no I'm so very very sorry for your losses.

Personally I think a lot can be gained from seeing the aftermath after a predator attack. But from experience I know it can also be extremely horrendous. We've had losses, too many losses, but never so many at once. Again I'm so sorry. I've been there before when you're wondering should I really, can I, do I want to start again. Do what's best for you right now but don't beat yourself up too much or your DH. Mistakes are made by us all but sometimes you can't keep them safe no matter how hard you try. All we can do is our best.

Don't give up you can do this. I would contact the DNR they should know these coyotes have become so bold. I would also put up a game camera if you have one and then I would deal with the whole pack if you can. Now that those pups know what chicken is you can be sure they'll be back.

We will be rebuilding our coop next year after rat and mink attacks. Underneath the inside and outside walls; wood siding outside and I forget what it's called inside but it's washable and water proof, we will be lining at least the bottom 2-3 feet with hardware cloth with either chicken wire or a larger welded wire fencing on top for double defense both the inside and the outside. Part of our reasoning for this is to keep predators and rodents out.

We had a serious problem with predatory rats 18 or so months ago which brought in a mink. Actually it wasn't the first time the mink was here. Anyway we worked for months to get rid of the rats and tried to get the mink. We were unsuccessful with the mink but now we are worried the rats are back or will come back.

Our coop does have a foundation however the rats chewed right through it to enter our main coop walls the first time. If we ever lay the foundation for a coop(this was an existing building) we plan to run metal in the foundation to deter chewing.

I had a rat problem. In one of the coops we put up an interior wall around the bottom of the coop I know not why. Rats chewed holes in the wood and nested in-between the inner and outer walls. I tore the walls out and replaced them but did not put any inner wall in this time. Prior to renovating that coop I loaded it with rat baits and closed it off so nothing could get inside and get to the rat baits. I did get rid of the rats. Now I keep some baits in places where only the rats can get to them.

 

[flyin-lowe]

Do you have any pictures of your setup? 75 plus birds is a lot.

 

[townchicks]

Sorry to hear this, I'm sure it was hard on you. Can you convert the shed you are currently using into a permanent coop? It sounds like that would be more secure than what you had. If not, re-homing the survivors and waiting until you can build something safe, may be the right thing for you to do.

 

[morganalefae]

Along the lines of what @morganalefae was saying, instead of doing all that digging to bury the hardware cloth you can just bring it out away from the fence line (like an apron) and use landscaping pins to hold it to the ground. Eventually the grass will grow through it, you won't even see the fence and you can mow right over it. That will save you so much time and will spare you a lot of aches and pains! You can see in this picture where I had just finished replacing my woven wire fence with hardware cloth, how it is lying flat over the ground. In just a few months it looked like the far right end where the grass had already grown through the hardware cloth. I brought mine out 18".
View attachment 1529338
Also, I would use U-nails to secure any fence or hardware cloth to your coop. I've heard stories of big raccoons pushing or pulling through fence that was only stapled.

how far would you bring it out if laid on the ground? and would some predators dig under?

 

[Trish1974]

how far would you bring it out if laid on the ground? and would some predators dig under?

I brought mine out a foot and a half. Once the grass grows through it its not visible. So far nothing has challenged it. Digging predators like to dig as close as they can to the structure they are trying to get into. With my electric fence right there they would probably get zapped before they even had a chance to try to dig.

 

[Howard E]

Back to the OP's original and subsequent posts. They lost 75+ birds, 2 turkeys and a bunch of ducks in one overnight raid? Or was this over a period of time? If over time, during what amount of time where these attacks spaced, and how many birds each time? And as gory as it may seem, how were the birds found? Just dead and scattered about (or stacked up in a pile) but mostly intact? Or pieces missing? (like heads)

And can they post photos of their coop setup?

And 75 is a lot of chickens. What was the purpose of this many birds?

How much experience does the OP have raising birds? A little (as in only recently started), or a lot? As in a few years or more?

And where is the OP located? (state and/or region of a state is close enough)