Lost my Ginny..Devastated!!!

[missy1971]

Barbed wire will be a waste of time, IMO.  Small predators can easily go between the barbs.  Use hardware cloth instead.  Mary

Yes I was wondering that. I have hardware cloth, going to get more today. I have a very good sun shade on the to of the run, but and putting cloth on it as extra. I feel like I'm so much on a mission, people at home at telling me it's secure, but I want it the way I want it, so I just told them to leave me be. Lol, I'll finish when I finish and feel good about it. I'm setting out my traps today. But not sure how far from the coop I should put them.

 

[Folly's place]

You are targeting chicken predators, so set traps close to the coop. It's not scorched earth time, but going after specific individual(s). Mary

 

[missy1971]

You are targeting chicken predators, so set traps close to the coop.  It's not scorched earth time, but going after specific individual(s).  Mary

thanks! I will do that, now to find the kind of bait they will want besides my chickens!

 

[Angus2914]

Very sorry for your loss, I also raise these delightful birds, reminders of my childhood, but they seem to be targeted before the chickens, we have dogs around and sometimes I feel this is confusion for the birds, dogs are the ones that are doing the killing, if you have dogs around that the birds are comfortable with, other dogs may find them easy pickings.

 

[michelleh2294]

I Lost my very favorite girl, I am so devastated.
someone had posted what got theirs, that just took the head???.
The Hammer is about to come down in this yard!! Thankfully my coop is secured now, she was in the yard when this happened. we found her in our across street neighbors yard behind their shed.
So now all I have are my baby chicks.

so so sorry, i just yesterday lost the last of my original 3 hens that were 3 yrs old...ive now lost all three of them in 4 monts, i too am devastated....ruby was in the yard yesterday i usually put her in the fenced garden before i leave for work, i didnt yesterday and thought my boyfriend would be here soon to put her away, he wasnt then 5hours later she was missing, we found just a few feathers....then he saw a fox around 4pm so early......it feels like its my fault and i feel so sick and guilty for not putting her away....it feels like the end of an era ...i have 3 4 month old hens, they are cute and sweet but i dont think i feel the same way about them, i think when they are gone i wont have chickens anymore, just cant handle loosing them....we went for 3 yrs with our wonderful 3 hens free ranging sometimes in the yard and nithing happened, and now within 4 mnths have lost them all, just so darn hard, feeling sick and have to work today, i keep teling myself it couldve even happened while we were bboth here but even while we were in the house

 

[missy1971]

so so sorry, i just yesterday lost the last of my original 3 hens that were 3 yrs old...ive now lost all three of them in 4 monts, i too am devastated....ruby was in the yard yesterday i usually put her in the fenced garden before i leave for work, i didnt yesterday and thought my boyfriend would be here soon to put her away, he wasnt then 5hours later she was missing, we found just a few feathers....then he saw a fox around 4pm so early......it feels like its my fault and i feel so sick and guilty for not putting her away....it feels like the end of an era ...i have 3 4 month old hens, they are cute and sweet but i dont think i feel the same way about them, i think when they are gone i wont have chickens anymore, just cant handle loosing them....we went for 3 yrs with our wonderful 3 hens free ranging sometimes in the yard and nithing happened, and now within 4 mnths have lost them all, just so darn hard, feeling sick and have to work today, i keep teling myself it couldve even happened while we were bboth here but even while we were in the house

I still miss my girl...its not easy at all...I continued to have my chickens, I so enjoy them and although I will never replace my Ginny, my current girls are sweethearts!

 

[TheWickedChicken]

Killing predators won't do anything in the long run. You're just opening up a vacuum that others predators will subsequently fill. Just secure the coop better. Unless you have a repeat offender that's smart enough to outwit your security upgrades (like raccoons) leave the gun in the house. I'm sure it must be infuriating, but predators don't have a vendetta against you or your chickens. They're just doing what predators do, you can't really expect them to not go after what they see as easy pickings.

 

[michelleh2294]

i went searching for my ruby, my rhode island just hoping that maybe i would find her, i have seen nothing but feathers...still so upset and dealing with the guilt, i keep telling myself that i did the best i could, i just wish i could have a do over, i would put her in the fenced garden like i usually do...its just so damn hard to lose them

 

[Sublight]

thanks! I will do that, now to find the kind of bait they will want besides my chickens!

Ive been chasing a coon for almost a month. I just got a big trap from my dad.
Everything I have read says cheap canned cat food, and sardines.
If you are in the country, the .22 is plenty. If you are where you cant discharge a firearm, use a .22 caliber pellet rifle. I got one, it cost me about 129 bucks at Academy. Its a Benjamin Titan NP. It is a tack driver, and has plenty of power for a coon. It even has a picture of a coon on the box and says its recommended for small game.

I lost 2 of my chickens, and it is really sad. I incubated, and hatched them myself. Even helped some of them hatch out of their shells. My wife had named them, and you could hear her scold them like they were children.
My wife: "Dot, you be nice to LemonDrop! That's your daughter you know! You should be ashamed, now go away!" and she would shoe it away. Then a coon killed it.
I think its a little silly how attached we get to these birds, but we do. I miss both of my girls every time I walk in the pen.

 

[michelleh2294]

Ive been chasing a coon for almost a month. I just got a big trap from my dad.
Everything I have read says cheap canned cat food, and sardines.
If you are in the country, the .22 is plenty. If you are where you cant discharge a firearm, use a .22 caliber pellet rifle. I got one, it cost me about 129 bucks at Academy. Its a Benjamin Titan NP. It is a tack driver, and has plenty of power for a coon. It even has a picture of a coon on the box and says its recommended for small game.

I lost 2 of my chickens, and it is really sad. I incubated, and hatched them myself. Even helped some of them hatch out of their shells. My wife had named them, and you could hear her scold them like they were children.
My wife: "Dot, you be nice to LemonDrop! That's your daughter you know! You should be ashamed, now go away!" and she would shoe it away. Then a coon killed it.
I think its a little silly how attached we get to these birds, but we do. I miss both of my girls every time I walk in the pen.