Three nights ago, a predator got into the coop and killed 10 chickens. It managed the latch on the door. The chickens all got out and scattered. 14 have returned over the course of that day, and I have been unable to locate 10 others.
Two nights ago, something came and pulled one of my Serama hens through the wire of a hutch. It is a solidly built wood and wire hutch, with heavy gauge 1/2 x 1 inch opening wire. I have pulled on all sides of the wire with no weakness to show, and rooster that was in with the hen was fine, but terrified.
There was blood, bits of flesh and feathers everywhere. Its truly horrific for me to imagine.
My dear hubby went out and got night vision camera and a hard drive to record activity, and a motion detecting light. I pulled my remaing birds inside and the door to the coop has a new latch that i hope will outsmart the predator. It taped a racoon at 2 am, who spent 90% of its time around the coop where the hen was pulled through the wire.
I know we have fox, fisher cats, wolves, dogs and racoons, among other things.
Is it possible the racoon dismantled the hen? I truly expected it to be a fisher cat, but we heard the hen buy it that morning and there was no blood curdling kill call. I only put together that it was her death throes after i realized what had happened.
Very sad, but we plan to secure the area much better, and take more precautions.
Two nights ago, something came and pulled one of my Serama hens through the wire of a hutch. It is a solidly built wood and wire hutch, with heavy gauge 1/2 x 1 inch opening wire. I have pulled on all sides of the wire with no weakness to show, and rooster that was in with the hen was fine, but terrified.
There was blood, bits of flesh and feathers everywhere. Its truly horrific for me to imagine.
My dear hubby went out and got night vision camera and a hard drive to record activity, and a motion detecting light. I pulled my remaing birds inside and the door to the coop has a new latch that i hope will outsmart the predator. It taped a racoon at 2 am, who spent 90% of its time around the coop where the hen was pulled through the wire.
I know we have fox, fisher cats, wolves, dogs and racoons, among other things.
Is it possible the racoon dismantled the hen? I truly expected it to be a fisher cat, but we heard the hen buy it that morning and there was no blood curdling kill call. I only put together that it was her death throes after i realized what had happened.
Very sad, but we plan to secure the area much better, and take more precautions.
