My flock has being living unscathed in their outhouse-turned-chickencoop for 3 years now. Yesterday I came home to find 2 dead hens in the run....their necks broken or bitten. Our run collapsed during a snowstorm this year, so I figured something got in through a space, although I couldn't really figure out where. I spent a good amount of time re-securing the run, and locked the surviving hen and rooster inside the coop for the night.
This morning when I went to let them out, I opened the door only to find the rooster dead inside! (Luckily my favorite hen is still living and now in a dog cage in our garage). His neck was bitten and there was blood smeared on the walls. My best guess is that something got under the outhouse and came through a 3-4 inch gap where the toilet seat used to be, and is now covered by a board. (Poorly covered, I know that now). But I don't know if whatever it is is in the ceiling or what?!!
I'm thinking it's a weasel, but I've read that weasels will kill them all and it did leave 1 hen untouched. Maybe a fisher cat? Whatever it was killed in the daytime and either at night or dawn and didn't rip their heads or eat any of it. Not sure if it took the crops but the kills were pretty clean. I saw some of the neck hanging out of the hen yesterday but I didn't look close enough to see if the crop was taken. Any guesses as to what it might be?
The other problem I have is that if I close this gap in the outhouse, I still don't know how anything got under it to begin with because the outhouse is on top of a concrete foundation. Any thoughts or suggestions???? Thanks!
PS I live in CT
This morning when I went to let them out, I opened the door only to find the rooster dead inside! (Luckily my favorite hen is still living and now in a dog cage in our garage). His neck was bitten and there was blood smeared on the walls. My best guess is that something got under the outhouse and came through a 3-4 inch gap where the toilet seat used to be, and is now covered by a board. (Poorly covered, I know that now). But I don't know if whatever it is is in the ceiling or what?!!
I'm thinking it's a weasel, but I've read that weasels will kill them all and it did leave 1 hen untouched. Maybe a fisher cat? Whatever it was killed in the daytime and either at night or dawn and didn't rip their heads or eat any of it. Not sure if it took the crops but the kills were pretty clean. I saw some of the neck hanging out of the hen yesterday but I didn't look close enough to see if the crop was taken. Any guesses as to what it might be?
The other problem I have is that if I close this gap in the outhouse, I still don't know how anything got under it to begin with because the outhouse is on top of a concrete foundation. Any thoughts or suggestions???? Thanks!
PS I live in CT
