Help! Whole flock killed!

[Gcooper]

We have a chicken tractor for our chickens that we move every few weeks. Usually they are free ranged with the guineas from 1-5pm ish then I put them up every night. We came home from the store at 4pm and all of my chickens except 1 are dead. The guineas are fine as well. All of them were eaten butt first, and two of them were barely even touched, any ideas got them?

 

[Bullitt]

We have a chicken tractor for our chickens that we move every few weeks. Usually they are free ranged with the guineas from 1-5pm ish then I put them up every night. We came home from the store at 4pm and all of my chickens except 1 are dead. The guineas are fine as well. All of them were eaten butt first, and two of them were barely even touched, any ideas got them?

Do you have foxes in your area?

This is the chance you take with free-ranging chickens when you are not home. Do you have a dog to guard them? What breeds of chickens do you have? Breeds like Leghorns can usually get away if they have trees or something to fly up on.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

All of them were eaten butt first, and two of them were barely even touched, any ideas got them?

Hi there, welcome to BYC!

So sorry for your loss.

Kinda sounds like domestic dogs... not knowing you set up or location.

 

[BYC910]

I'm sorry for your loss .Dog .eaten or killed? Dog ! they were run down .who close has a dog?

 

[janiedoe]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your flock! It does sound like dogs. More than one probably.

 

[Gcooper]

We have the coop right up next to the house, probably about 40 yards. The whole property is about 150 acres total. So we do have foxes and coyotes that pass through, but usually our dog keeps them at bay. She is more of a house dog though, so she was inside at the time of the attack.

 

[Bullitt]

We have the coop right up next to the house, probably about 40 yards. The whole property is about 150 acres total. So we do have foxes and coyotes that pass through, but usually our dog keeps them at bay. She is more of a house dog though, so she was inside at the time of the attack.

I think it could have been foxes, coyotes, or dogs. I am sorry this happened to you. Leghorn or Dominique would be good for free-ranging and avoiding predators, if you decide to get more chickens. I see the guineas avoided the predator or predators.

It is good to have an outside dog on a farm to protect your livestock. I would suggest getting a livestock guardian dog, such as an Anatolian Shepherd or Great Pyrenees. Even having another breed of dog outside will help to deter predators.

 

[Gcooper]

Thank you for all your advice. I'm currently trying to talk the hubby into Great Pyrenees my neighbor just had puppies. I am hoping to get more chicks soon, so I will have to look into those. We had mostly Easter eggers and barred rocks.

 

[ShannonR]

I agree, dog(s).

Off topic a little, but I HAVE seen great Pyrenees run down livestock and kill them. Sheep and chickens and baby pigs. Owner had a bunch of them, didn't fence them in, and fed them barely enough to get by. I would be looking closely at any dogs belonging to neighbors.

 

[Bullitt]

Sure, almost any breed of dog that has not been trained will kill chickens.

It would be good to get a puppy and raise it around the chickens so it learns to protect them.