Lost my whole flock

[McChooky]

1/2" galvanized hardware cloth attached with screws and washers is the gold standard. THey get hungry they'll hunt somewhere else.My coops close to my house in a fenced yard under a security light which helps deter them.I'm sorry for your loss!

Having a neighbor who feeds foxes makes raising chickens difficult. They'll kill the whole flock.They sometimes just eat the heads

 

[WhatsUpDuck]

Yes my neighbors doing that makes me weary and upset about it. All we can do is fortify, and trap. I don't understand why they just feed foxes for fun that seems just odd to me.

LORD JESUS IS KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!

 

[Altairsky]

We use chicken legs from chickens we've processed. Some folks eat them but we haven't been, so instead of wasting we use as bait.

I use the legs to make bone broth. Chicken legs (and skin) are extremely rich in collagene which is very helpful to prevent osteoporosis and keep the skin young.

 

[Beau plus penny]

I'm so sorry for your loss Minks are awful horrible critters and kill for sport. I had a run in with one. I caught it on camera. Killed 9 ducks in a matter of minutes by the time I got notified of movement by the coop throwing shoes on and getting out the door. Couldn't find it anywhere. Was scared for the rest of my ducks so I went inside to make a space in the garage. Sent my daughter out to start moving the ducks to garage. This was only a matter of 2 minutes before she walked out the door before I heard screaming. It was back in the pen and killed 3 more ducks. I still couldn't see it. It was dark. At the time I had no idea what I was up against. In the 4 years I've had ducks I've never experienced such a nightmare. Thanks god for my cameras or it would of killed them all. I was never able to trap it. It still haunts me.

honestly im not usually one to kill animals but my chickens are my babies and if something was putting them in danger best believe mama bear would come out. by the way im not joking im dead serious.

 

[McChooky]

Yes my neighbors doing that makes me weary and upset about it. All we can do is fortify, and trap. I don't understand why they just feed foxes for fun that seems just odd to me.

LORD JESUS IS KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!

Foxes have a 5-10 mile territory and multiple dens.If your neighbors feed them they have kits nearby.I have to use 1/2" hardware cloth over everything(my neighbor feeds foxes and coons both)

 

[WhatsUpDuck]

We got our new flock a few days ago. The are starting to adjust, but they are very skittish of us, and just not the same as our original flock. I think with time they will learn to trust us and be happy. We did have a predator this morning! I heard scratching on our camera at the coop and I popped out of bed to see what that noise was. And I saw something very fast moving around the coop from the back to the side. I couldn't really tell if it was a mink or a skunk. Whatever it was could move VERY fast! I rushed to wake my husband up and he ran outside. It was gone before he got there. It was still dark about 5:45ish and the rooster was crowing before he even got there, and didn't stop for a long while! I'm so blessed and thankful it didn't get in!! It couldn't get through the hardware cloth. It kept lunging at it from what I could tell on camera.

LORD JESUS IS KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!

 

[McChooky]

We got our new flock a few days ago. The are starting to adjust, but they are very skittish of us, and just not the same as our original flock. I think with time they will learn to trust us and be happy. We did have a predator this morning! I heard scratching on our camera at the coop and I popped out of bed to see what that noise was. And I saw something very fast moving around the coop from the back to the side. I couldn't really tell if it was a mink or a skunk. Whatever it was could move VERY fast! I rushed to wake my husband up and he ran outside. It was gone before he got there. It was still dark about 5:45ish and the rooster was crowing before he even got there, and didn't stop for a long while! I'm so blessed and thankful it didn't get in!! It couldn't get through the hardware cloth. It kept lunging at it from what I could tell on camera.

LORD JESUS IS KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!

They try to get in on the backside here so I can't see them but I keep audio on at all times.I know when they're around because I have hounds who can smell them before they hear them. Hw cloth is a game changer and lifesaver! Congratulations on your new chickens!

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Curious how your new flock is doing and if you've had more predator scare? In my 22 years with chickens I've only had one owl attack years back until now! Mink! We saw it, small, dark brown, bouncy gait, fast. Absolutely THE WORST. Like you've said, very fast, very determined and very hard to keep out unless you have the right gauge hardware cloth, secured, everywhere. The one I've been dealing with plowed right through the cheap,thin hardware cloth that they make pre-fabs coops out of. I had one of those screens over a window and it made a hole in one corner. That is all it takes to get in the coop or run, it was the size of a fifty-cent piece. I'm re-enforcing my chain link run with hardware cloth now and no more free-ranging until this thing is gone or trapped (so far no interested in the chicken livers or sardines in the trap.)

 

[WhatsUpDuck]

They are doing great! Thanks for asking! They are settling in just fine. It's harder for me and the kids because we miss our old flock. With time I'm sure it will get better. They are starting to come around, and being friendly. It is just different. My husband has wrapped it with hardware cloth from the bottom up! We are constantly looking for weak spots! It's been about two weeks since I've seen anything. I have heard the rooster crow before sun up and I let the dog out just in case. But we've not caught anything yet! My husband thinks we will probably need to order the lure. We did see a coyote on the other side of our property on our trail cam, but it wasn't that big guy that got in!

LORD JESUS IS KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

If you do catch anything in your live trap, please kill it. It is not fair, and often illegal, to release it somewhere else. You're just making it someone else's problem, and it's much worse now because you've made it trap-savvy. Besides that, the other critters in the area where you dump it will probably kill it and it will be a cruel, hard death. Just dispatch it and dispose of it.