lost 4 hens and rir rooster hanging in there.

[rubberchicken]

Something got 4 hens in broad daylight, and my rir rooster is injured and barely hanging in there but seems to be doing better. The rooster had a bite on his back from ribs to ribs and it had small teeth, I was thinking a fox. Anyone have any ideas as to other possibilities. and what would be the best way to catch it. The hens were totally gone just feathers for about 100 yards.

 

[FLOWERPOT]

Sounds like a fox... or a dog!
Sorry to hear about your chickens.

 

[ivan3]

Almost certainly a fox. The hens were probably cached (or just grabbed and temporarily stashed before the feast) and you should be able to find the location as there will be a lot of nothing but feathers. From this point it is a matter of searching out the most likely area within a couple hundred yards that would serve as a good area for a den (south facing hillside, big hickory/oak snags that have easily dug soil at base). We've had some luck with both snares (along fence lines they like to travel) and leg holds but, we've shot far more than we've trapped.

If it is a fox it will return in a couple of days at about the same time. Have your rifle/shotgun handy. If it sees you and takes off, wait a while, they can't resist coming back for another look.

Good luck to you and your roo!

 

[emvickrey]

Did you try to track where they where taken to?

Sounds like it's time to bring out the shotgun. Sit in the coop or a place where your hidden and near where your roo is. Maybe put him in a cage outside and wait. It will come back.

Every morning I would go out and find more dead. Whatever it was would leave a hole in their heads. It didn't eat them. I heard a ruckus during the daytime one day and I went out to the barn and they where all on a small roof the husband built for them to get out of the sun.

My husband sat in a coop we had years ago because whatever was getting in our coop had just about killed all of our flock. So he loaded his shotgun and spent the night with the chickens. He got a coon.