It struck again last night!

[A.M. Eggs]

So I posted a thread yesterday about how 5 of my chickens were brutally murdered. Now I go out this morning to find that there are around 30 more dead on the coop floor. There are feathers and blood everywhere. Whatever this animal is it knows how to open coop doors and sneak in through small spaces. It also doesn’t eat the chickens. It must know how to climb. What is it and what should I do?

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry for your loss. When a predator comes in and kills, they usually come back. You would be good to post on your origanl thread, since you have about 3 threads about this issue. It is really awful to find slaughtered chickens, and I cannot imagine that. But if you have any left, you should move them to a secure pen. Raccoons, weasels, and foxes are pretty bad predators. A game camera would be good to identify the predator, and I would be getting a trap set.

 

[A.M. Eggs]

The problem is that this was the secure pen. It somehow broke through. They were originally free-ranging and when all of them were killed, I set up a new super fortified pen. This pen has been working really well for the last 6 months. The hole it made yesterday, Apparently, wasn't the only one.
Can Weasels open doors? I do have a smaller coop but I wont use it until I have only about 5 chickens left. It is not that big.

 

[DobieLover]

It very much sounds like you have a long tailed weasel terrorizing your coop. These weasels are found all across the US.
Can you post pictures of your coop from all sides? I'd also check the roof lines of your coop as they can easily get in that way too.

 

[A.M. Eggs]

I'll check when I get home later today. The weasel won't strike again during the day will it? And do weasels snap their necks and just leave them?

 

[DobieLover]

The problem is that this was the secure pen. It somehow broke through. They were originally free-ranging and when all of them were killed, I set up a new super fortified pen. This pen has been working really well for the last 6 months. The hole it made yesterday, Apparently, wasn't the only one.
Can Weasels open doors? I do have a smaller coop but I wont use it until I have only about 5 chickens left. It is not that big.

Can you describe and provide pictures of your "super fortified pen?"

 

[A.M. Eggs]

Can you describe and provide pictures of your "super fortified pen?"

I will when I get back home later today.

 

[DobieLover]

I'll check when I get home later today. The weasel won't strike again during the day will it? And do weasels snap their necks and just leave them?

The weasel goes for the neck and will over kill. Have you examined the necks to look for puncture marks?
So sorry you are going through this.

 

[A.M. Eggs]

The weasel goes for the neck and will over kill. Have you examined the necks to look for puncture marks?
So sorry you are going through this.

Yes, most of the chickens have tell tale signs of hurt necks. I do believe that this is a weasel that recently moved into the area. I found one hen still alive in the corner. She is not lying down, she is standing up, but I think she's in shock. She has a few torn feathers near her neck. I'll take more pictures later today.

 

[A.M. Eggs]

Ok so I have an idea on how to catch the weasel. Let me know what you think if it will work or not.

1. Put all remaining chickens in a small secure coop for the night
2. The main coop where it happened will have raw chicken and a bunch of sticky traps on the floor
3. A trap outside the coop that has raw chicken

What do you think? Will this catch the weasel?