Help! Massacre, need revenge

[starri33]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss, I agree with the others, game camera to see what it is you are dealing with, re-enforce your coop and use electric fencing, I've been blessed in that I've not had more than one chick taken I am sure by a hawk. I've since put up bird netting and shade cloth to help deter aerial predators. Once you know what you are dealing with, be ready to trap and eliminate, I know a lot of folks say relocate, but what they don't think about is they are just passing on the problem to some one else. I've bought metal mouse traps for my coops, even the package says to put it in water to kill the mice.

 

[Rammy]

An animal has been taking my chickens and may have taken 2 cats. Ever since my Liege Fighter rooster died, something is taking birds almost every day. Its smart and can open latched cages. This morning it ripped open the screen in my garage and killed a brooder full of chicks and a OShamo hen brooding her chicks! There were 10 4 week old chicks, a 10lb Oshamo hen and her 5 new babies. Nothing left but feet and feathers, it ate every bite or took it home. The hen was in a rabbit hutch and the animal unlatched a 3 way latch to open the door. The other brooder is a 2 foot high stock tank that was covered with a screen window and bricks. One Tom cat was injured. There was feathers and blood for a 20ft radius but no one in the house heard a sound.

I need tips on what animal could do this and how to trap it. This has been going on 2 weeks and I'm done. It's taken some very valuable and well loved chickens and 2 cats are missing in the same time frame. We live in Iowa and there have been no coyotes or bobcat sightings in our area. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Game cameras.

 

[Joev1973]

Tasco game camera at walmart $24.99

Takes great HD photos night and day

These photos were taken with $24 tasco camera. Runs on AA batteries and shoots still photos or video.

You dont need a $200 camera the cheap one at walmart will identify your predator the first night.

By checking your camera you can also learn about new threats that you didnt know existed and you could possibly see something on your camera and act on it before the problem gets to your coop.

Im guessing a raccoon and most likely more than 1.

 

[DuckWhisperer06]

Tasco game camera at walmart $24.99

Takes great HD photos night and day

These photos were taken with $24 tasco camera. Runs on AA batteries and shoots still photos or video.

You dont need a $200 camera the cheap one at walmart will identify your predator the first night.

By checking your camera you can also learn about new threats that you didnt know existed and you could possibly see something on your camera and act on it before the problem gets to your coop.

View attachment 1849334 View attachment 1849335


Im guessing a raccoon and most likely more than 1.

We have same camera, lol. Pretty cheap compared to most cameras, but still works great.

 

[Joev1973]

seems the price went up $4 but still worth it. You will also need an SD card which i believe you can find under $10 for a small one.






https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tasco-8MP-Tan-Game-Camera-Low-Glow/55614224

 

[Joev1973]

We have same camera, lol. Pretty cheap compared to most cameras, but still works great.
View attachment 1849336
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View attachment 1849337

Great camera isn't it!

I have owned cameras for a long time.
In the beginning you had to carry batteries with you in the woods. They would be dead every time. They had alot of faults. Cold/wet etc. They had old school flash

Not to mention they were expensive.

Now they are cheap, the batterys last forever and they are stunning HD (in daytime) and infrared flash. I am actually going to buy 2 more of the same model one for behind the coop facing the woods and one facing my nest box door.

If somethings lurking i want to know. I have been capturing alot of doe on camera so hoping to see some antlers this fall

 

[Elsveta641]

Thanks for your replies. As others have mentioned it was puzzling that do much was taken, more than you'd think an animal would eat. Since my post we also lost a few more beautiful and healthy hens, my favorites. All were spirited and very large, you'd think difficult prey as far as chickens go. This was strange too because I have a shamo and a ayam cemani who are crippled (injury and frostbite respectively) and they'd be very easy for a predator to catch. But they are unharmed. I tried a camera but it was never pointed in the right direction to catch the attacks. Sometimes the kills were outside, night or day. Sometimes the barn and sometimes the garage.

Turned out to be my own tomcat. A beautiful one I kept because he took down predators as large as a adult raccoon, skunks etc. He turned on our flock out of what I assume was boredom. He was hunting for sport mostly, taking the most difficult birds. The chicks I think he just killed because they were there with the shamo hen. He was stashing the meat to eat at his leisure, I busted him on camera napping with some dead birds in the hayloft.

I beat him with the body of a hen he had killed and locked him in a cage for a few days. Each day I'd bring some of his stash and yell at him and shake it in front of his face. I took him to his stash in the loft and made dramatic fake crying noises and held a live hen and pet her, he was visibly upset.

I haven't lost a bird since.

 

[FluffTheDuck]

How horrible!!! This seems so hard for you. People will help you get to the bottom of this. I would vote raccoon unlocking the latches, maybe a family of them.

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

Hear me out..... can't it might possible be that the 2 'missing' cats are actually the culprits?!! They've gone missing because they've stashed the chickens somewhere else and having an all-you-can-eat buffet style feast!!

*edit* - Just read that I was right, that indeed it was your own very cats!

 

[ChickNanny13]

Glad you got to the bottom of the killing, some peace of mind. Sorry for your losses You may need to "remind" him that your chickens are the reason he's there