LOST BIRDS

[eggnest]

I have seen something so very sad this morning. I put all my quail on the ground for the winter in a pen about 14X14, lots of hay to get down in. They did very well and only lost 2 all winter. This past week I upgraded all my off the ground breeder cages so I could start collecting the egg for hatching . weather wise it was going to be great this weekend so today I was going to move them. I have had no trouble with raccoon or possums getting in these pens,,but last night a racoon ( more than one Iam sure) tore open one corner of the cage and got in,, they killed every one of my birds, ate just a few , and just killed the rest. I had 80 quail hens and about 25 males, there was 100+ birds in all , and they just killed them all and left them there. I could see where they has eaten a few outside the cage . I will move the traps i have and set them there and catch them tonight because Iam sure they will come back , it will be there last supper!
I may start over ,,but i dont know anyone that has Jumbo Brown Quail around here, and I had some great ones.
looking to buy eggs in mid TN area,, jumbo browns ao my texas a&m

 

[sourland]

Sorry for the loss and waste of your birds. I hope that you can reestablish your flock. You might want to consider hot wire for protection.

 

[Ascholten]

This is just so sad. If the thing ate them, that's one thing but to just kill for killing. THIS is why people KILL PREDATORS, for the tree huggers out there who just don't get it about raising animals and want to speed dial their therapist anytime someone mentions culling predators.

Right now I have something that is harrassing my chickens and absolutely destroying my garden, not sure what it is, it sets off the rat traps, but does not get caught, and does not leave any fur behind for me to see what it was. Glue traps are not working, the have a heart traps, cage traps are not working. It's eating all my plants, broccoli, strawberries, etc, they don't even have to be ripe yet. It's coming around at night time around 10 pm. Im at the point where im about to sit out side with a shotgun and just kill anything that moves in the yard at this point, I am so tired of this. Ive seen rabbits running around at night and not ruling them out either.

Are you sure it's a coon? Dogs can do the same thing. Possums are known for chewing the heads off as well. Let's not also rule out the worst species of all, humans. I have known of kids destroying coops, and staging damage to make it look like animal damage. The first step is going to be to figure out exactly what it was, then you can figure out how to eliminate it after knowing what it is.

Were there any footprints or anything to positively ID what may have done this? Id also file a police report, so that way if it is a dog, and you end up blasting it, it's on record why.

Aaron

 

[Stepnout]

Sorry to hear this! I used to have homing pigeons for training pointing dogs. Several times over the years I have had raccoons destroy my setup and kill every bird I had. They are not only crafty killers but very powerful. They can break in or chew through almost anything. They work in groups and are merciless. Last year I purchased 2 dog proof traps. Best thing ever, look them up you can buy them on Amazon or a local trapper supply.

 

[Quailobsessed]

I'm so sorry to hear that. I've never had to deal with racoons, because I live in Australia, but I have lost birds to rats before. It is very devastating.

 

[CluckerFamily]

I am so sorry