Help! I lost 10 chickens in 2 weeks.

[buttergirl12]

I already got rid of a raccoon and a wild cat. I still keep finding half eaten chickens almost every day in and near the pen. sometimes they disappear without a trace, sometimes only some feathers are left behind. I have a trap set up that I have double checked a million times if it works. Every morning the bait is gone. Last night I put flour in front of the trap and I put it inside the run. This morning the trap is still set, the bait is gone and the flour is undisturbed. I suspected that whatever it is comes through under the gate. This morning I finally found some tracks. They are not very clear because it's pretty muddy. Right outside the gate I put the huge Cochin rooster it killed yesterday surrounded by flour so I could see tracks. It was half eaten but there was still meat on it and guts hanging out. It was not touched overnight. Surprisingly I did not loose a chicken last night although one of them was gone this morning but came back later. I only have one hen left that sleeps on top of the coop. The others all sleep in the tree, most of them pretty high up. It seems like it comes at dawn. I'm in the capital region of NY state. We have coyotes here but I don't know how they would get in the run. I've caught several raccoons last year pretty easily so I think this is something different.
The print is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and has claw marks.

 

[speckledhen]

Quote:

Since you're losing so many, I have to ask: what is your setup like? How is this predator getting into your coop? Or do you have a coop? Is your setup open at night?

I live in the woods in the mountains, surrounded by all manner of predators and have never lost one to a predator in the almost 7 years we've had chickens, mainly because the coops lock up at night and have hardware cloth over every window opening. The only thing that could get them is a bear...and a bear could come into my house if he wanted. I can spotlight the woods at 3 a.m. and see possums, coons, mice, deer and plenty of eyes I cannot identify that are probably canine in nature, fox or coyote or even roaming dog.

I'm just saying that rather than spend time trying to ID the predator, maybe taking a good long hard look at how they're getting the birds would be in order, if they are getting them after roost time-is that the case? Not while free ranging?

Now, to me, that sort of looks like a raccoon track, though it's pretty blurry. Looks like elongated fingers on the front, but it's so smudged, hard to be sure, at least for me.

 

[buttergirl12]

I know my coop and run are not save. The chickens decided to free range by coming out over the top. But I have not lost one during the day. We were going to improve it this spring but now it looks like we are moving. I can't really invest any money here now besides I don't know how I would stop them from going in the tree. I figure before we move I will have to build new coop and totally enclosed run and hopefully train them to roost in the coop so I can lock them up because obviously what I have now isn't working.

 

[Beekissed]

Sounds like a fisher~

http://blog.syracuse.com/outdoors/2009/11/fishers_the_newest_predator_in.html

 

[speckledhen]

We'd have to know where you are located. We don't have fishers in the south at all.



ETA: Oops, I missed this in your first post, sorry!


Quote: So, it could be a raccoon or it could be a fisher. Game camera would be fabulous.

 

[rikithemonk]

Raccoon?

Looks close

 

[tellynpeep]

This is a perfect situation for a game-cam. You can get them pretty cheaply now. Set it up and watch pics tomorrow of the culprit!

 

[Henrisue]

My hens free range. I was bothered almost every night by possum invading the house where they roost. We lost several to foxes until I wrapped Christmas lights around the open coop where they roost at night. I wrapped a string of lights two times around the little house. I leave them on 24/7. One of my hens likes to roost on a patio chair outside this open coop, so my daughter and I decided to wrap Christmas light all along the fence that surrounds the back yard. (Fox got through it before) Since doing this we have not been disturbed by any predators at night and more importantly, not lost anymore hens!

 

[chicks@feathers]

That is a Racoon or a old Possem and i would say a possem for a racoon will eat everything but is legs and leave them there for you to find a possem will only eat the breat of a chicken and then leave get a live trap and bait it with peanut butter and you will catch the bugger they love penut butter for some reason the smell i think

 

[rikithemonk]

I know my coop and run are not save. The chickens decided to free range by coming out over the top. But I have not lost one during the day. We were going to improve it this spring but now it looks like we are moving. I can't really invest any money here now besides I don't know how I would stop them from going in the tree. I figure before we move I will have to build new coop and totally enclosed run and hopefully train them to roost in the coop so I can lock them up because obviously what I have now isn't working.

You can keep them from flying by clipping the flight feathers on their wings. If you do it right, its just like a hair cut and wont hurt them. These are the long feathers that are toward the end of the wings that do the majority of the lift. However, since you have zero safe places for them to roost, I wouldn't do that now because you will loose you entire flock. Look at my coop design. Its dead simple. Its a four foot square box and cost well under seventy dollars to build. If you want to build the coop without the runs, I would suggest doing the doors differently. going with barrel bolts instead of my rope and pulley set up.

Riki