Help Losing my flock to some type of predator

[fresheggs4u]

I didn't lose any last night. Hopefully the wire is working. Going to see what happens tonight.
My trap was empty also.

 

[jjthink]

I am not doing so well visualizing your set up. What kind of fence is it? Preds should not be able to get through hardware cloth. Or under it if it's buried deep. Is the run covered?
And if your coop is hot, they are smart, not "crazy," for not wanting to be in there. How big is it? How many birds? Fans? Ventilation? If the conditions are comfortable, they probably would roost in there. I have a thermometer in mine and monitor the temp closely to see if I need a fan or fans turned on - the birds have never once tried to roost outside.

28 birds lost in one week makes me heartsick. You needed Fort Knox after the first loss (well, before, but unfortunately we don't always know how vulnerable until that first hit). The stress and agony that these birds have had - both those dead now and the ones still alive that witness attack after attack - is just.....I can't find the words. I would get everybody else in lock down until you're really sure you've morphed the place into a fortress.
I know this is hard on you too.
JJ

 

[chickencrazymamahen]

Quote:
I agree, lock them up, put in some fans...its hot and humid here in SE MO too, but my girls and young chickens are all in their coops with the fans running full speed pulling in outside air.....too dangerous outside, even with a top on the coop....hope you don't lose anymore...remember, electricity goes off sometimes and then the wires don't work; at least thats the way it is in our garden, thats when the deer eat all my cabbage and beans, I swear they stand around waiting for the power to be off or for us to forget to plug the fence in!!! Good luck!

 

[fresheggs4u]

my runs are not covered now. they sere until the snow brought down a tree on them. I have used chicken wire for the fencing. My coop is 10X16 with one exhaust fan. They all lay eggs in the nesting boxes but do not roost in there. I have some hardware cloth covered windows in it. two that are 2X1.

My runs are over 1000 sq feet. Three side by side. that I rotate the flock in and out of to keep them grassy.

Hope this explains it a little better.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Chicken wire keeps chickens in; it does not keep predators out. To keep predators out, you need welded wire, the smaller the openings, the better. If the run is not covered, and they roost there, they have no protection from nighttime predators.

 

[ChooksChick]

If you haven't put a barrier between the birds and a predator from all sides, you aren't protecting them. The electric wire may help temporarily, but if the predator has been going over up until now, it'll continue to look for a way, eventually finding one.

I'd cover the runs again. If not that, put a light on a timer in the coop so they'll go in at dusk. It's up to you to protect them, and letting them get picked off instead of making them go in is not serving them very well- you need to force them to choose life over dark/hot. Make sure their fan is on- mine will go in just so they can stand in front of their fan!

 

[Jaguaress]

If it's too hot for your birds to be in their coop, but yet they're okay outside at night, you need more ventilation in your coop. This is an excellent write-up to follow from a fellow BYCer https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION .