How do you start over?

[SistaChick]

I posted in another thread that something got my chickens. Killed everyone one of them. Eight! I cried all day yesterday. I am the one that had to go out and pick up their lifeless bodies. Some were just dead, some were decapitated, some had their insides eaten out. The horror of opening my back door and seeing those chickens laying there was horrible and in my mind every time I woke up last night which was quite often.

My husband is trying to persuade me to try again, go get more, others have also, but whatever got my chickens will come back and they will kill them too. There were scratches on the chicken tractor and whatever it was opened the chicken wire and went in. Just typing about it now brings tears to my eyes.

They were only 8 to 9 weeks old but I was already loving them.

The only way I could ever do this again is to know that I made it pretty full proof that coyotes, stray dogs, weasels, fox, minks, possums, or raccoons could never get into them again but I am not sure that can be done.

 

[theoldchick]

Take time to recover. Do your research and make a more predator-proof facility for your chickens. So sorry for your loss.

 

[leadwolf1]

So sorry for your loss

That is great advice from theoldchick. You will feel more comfortable with getting more chicks once you have a really safe place to keep them.

 

[Adenium]

I'm sorry you went through this. As you'll see in many threads here, hardware cloth is considerably tougher than chicken wire and would be a good option when you feel up to trying with a new flock. Having them shut in a solid coop overnight would help as well. About the only risk after that is a bear....in which case you'd need electric fencing. Many people do keep chickens in predator-laden areas. Don't give up. Soon you'll have happy clucking hens again and be tucking them into bed in a big badass Fort Knox coop.

 

[DianaMallory]

.This is my 3rd time! And my advise to you is the same as theoldchick with the exception of don' t take time to recover! Predator Proof and then jump back into it! My first flock survived until I penned them up! I was getting eggs and lots of them and one night something got into the coop and killed them all. That was 20 years ago. My second flock, came 6 years later and they didn't make it past the first night out of the brooder! 30 chicks gone! My flock now came 14 years after the second flock. So far so good! But took the time to really predator proof this time~! In Predator proofing Chicken wire is for keeping chickens out of your garden not keep predators away from your chickens! HARDWARE CLOTH IS A MUST! Good luck and I know how you are feeling right now been there myself!

 

[RollinWithTheStones]

This is my 2nd time starting over (minus the one survivor). I found the spot, I reinforced it and now I'm making improvements while trying to keep my survivor alive and trap the raccoon.