Lost my first hen to a predator

[Bogtown Chick]

It doesn’t sound terrible. I know exactly what you mean. That cockerel that was taken was going to be soup as he was relentless with my hens. Nonetheless to be proper keeper I should be doing better.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I am so sorry!!!

That is a fear I have. It does seem to be an ever-present risk associated with chicken husbandry. But that doesn't make losing a pet any easier. I keep thinking my birds are safe with a locked up, hardware cloth lined coop and a sturdy hardware cloth lines run, but I am just fooling myself. I keep thinking that being in the city helps, too. But I have coons, skunks, and opossum, too. I'm thinking it's time to invest in a game cam and electric fencing...

 

[MissChick@dee]

Oh Susan I’m so sorry
How awful. I know how much you love your girls.
Sigh..so sad just sad.
I’m so sorry truly.
I think a baby monitor would help some. They’re not too expensive.

 

[aart]

He, or whatever it was, got Wanda inside the hen house.

Was this at night?
Could you tell where it got in?
Plenty of coons and possums in the city....
....fresh live chicken is nice change in their usual 'human garbage' menu.
I doubt it was the cat, tho you may catch him in a live trap if you set one out.
What you catch in trap may not be what killed your bird....so sorry for your loss.

 

[cmom]

Holy Cow ! That's a high dollar unit! But, from the reviews on less expensive ones, I guess you pretty much have to spend the bigger bucks to get one that does that good of a job.

Most cameras take good daytime pictures but not all take good nighttime pictures.

 

[cmom]

Two different cameras in the same place.

 

[Susan Dye]

Two different cameras in the same place.
View attachment 1588976 View attachment 1588977

WOW! Big difference! So, what camera did you use in the first picture?

 

[Susan Dye]

Was this at night?
Could you tell where it got in?
Plenty of coons and possums in the city....
....fresh live chicken is nice change in their usual 'human garbage' menu.
I doubt it was the cat, tho you may catch him in a live trap if you set one out.
What you catch in trap may not be what killed your bird....so sorry for your loss.

It was at night. Got in through the run door. My fault, didn't have it secured. Was having a hard time getting it to sit right. It was dark, freezing and I didn't take the time needed to keep them safe. I've since made the needed adjustments to the door so that it goes in properly for a snug, secure fit without having to fight with it.
I thought about possibly not getting the responsible critter in my trap, but I will just have to keep resetting the trap and see what happens. From what I've read here, it does seem that predators return to what they perceive to be easy pickings.

 

[Kat2141]

My chickens are in a spare stall in our barn, not a "coop". I have a camera in the stall and it came with a 7" monitor. That way, I don't have to have my phone or tv set up to capture the video… Chick TV is on all the time. I will say for a while I had the volume up where I could hear them but have turned it down. The monitor is in an area that is easy to see while we are up and around and inside. It also has an option to record all of the time or by motion-detection (this is iffy). I do wish that my camera could be moved remotely... we got one for my MIL for her coop that was a baby monitor and that one can be tilted and rotated (mine is older). The downside to these is your coop needs to be fairly close to your house due to the wireless signal strength. My camera and monitor have to be in the perfect position because it is a little over 100' with some heavy duty walls in between. MIL's is farther away and she has to have the monitor in the window to capture video. Mostly I find it handy to know when the girls are all in for the night and ready for me to close their door.

I wanted to edit to address the comment about having to get to them quickly if you notice a disturbance. My camera and my MIL's both have an option where you can speak to the camera... I would think that hearing a voice over it would help. (if someone talks over it while you are running outside )

 

[Susan Dye]

My chickens are in a spare stall in our barn, not a "coop". I have a camera in the stall and it came with a 7" monitor. That way, I don't have to have my phone or tv set up to capture the video… Chick TV is on all the time. I will say for a while I had the volume up where I could hear them but have turned it down. The monitor is in an area that is easy to see while we are up and around and inside. It also has an option to record all of the time or by motion-detection (this is iffy). I do wish that my camera could be moved remotely... we got one for my MIL for her coop that was a baby monitor and that one can be tilted and rotated (mine is older). The downside to these is your coop needs to be fairly close to your house due to the wireless signal strength. My camera and monitor have to be in the perfect position because it is a little over 100' with some heavy duty walls in between. MIL's is farther away and she has to have the monitor in the window to capture video. Mostly I find it handy to know when the girls are all in for the night and ready for me to close their door.

I wanted to edit to address the comment about having to get to them quickly if you notice a disturbance. My camera and my MIL's both have an option where you can speak to the camera... I would think that hearing a voice over it would help. (if someone talks over it while you are running outside )

Your set up sounds really nice. Glad to hear the baby monitor works for your MIL. Beats jumping up every hr or so during the night to check on the girls by raising a window to listen and watch when it's in the teens outside My brother just today brought up the fact that with a baby monitor I could yell at whatever might be outside and maybe put it in check as I grab my coat and boots. Plus, that would wake the dogs up so I can let them out ahead of me. They can run a lot faster than I can.