Lost Two Hens Today :(

[LilyD]

My husband called me at work today. He got home around 4pm and heard the rooster going off. He went to the fenced in yard for the chickens and saw something "Gray about the size of a large cat" going under the fence. He had pulled one hen to the other side of the fence and another hen he had pulled up to the fence and was eating it through the wire. Never thought that the animals would go after the hens in broad daylight. Not cool

 

[thomasboyle]

Sorry for your loss. Foxes and bobcat are daytime hunters, so based on gray color, it could have been a fox. Raccoons can also hunt during the day. I added an inner fence to my coop, so nothing can reach in and grab a sleeping duck or chicken. The outer fence is attached to the outside of each post, and the inner fence is attached to the inside of the same posts, so there is a 3 inch gap between the fences. So far this has worked, and no losses when everyone is in the fence. Unfortunately I cannot say the same when they are out in the yard - I've lost 3 guineas and two ducks in the past couple of weeks to a bobcat. The new bobcat cage trap arrived yesterday, so hopefully we can catch him in the next day or two. Everyone has been kept in the coop for a week as a result, so I know they are anxious to get out and enjoy some fresh grass!

 

[LilyD]

My husband actually saw it Monday afternoon when he came home. He said it was small and gray about the size of a large cat and he said it bounded like a cat too. We are thinking fisher cat and I showed him videos of it on the computer and he said he thought that might be it. We have a live trap set up sitting in the hole it dug under the fencing and the live chickens have been moved out of that pen and into another one for safety. I am also ordering an electric fencer and will be adding that to the outside of my fencing so it will be electrified on the outside. Hoping that will keep everything out other than things that fly.