Lots of birds missing in a short time.. what could it be?

[cupman]

I have lost roughly 10 chickens in the past 2 or 3 days. I just noticed today when I looked at the perches and they were so bare. I've lost a lot of birds from my original flock that were smart about avoiding predators and I'm just scratching my head here. I can rule out snakes, foxes, weasels, skunks and possums... those critters aren't really a problem around here. I can also rule out neighborhood dogs, there's only one neighbor with a dog and it's locked up in a run all day. We also don't have any stray dogs wandering the neighborhood. The two main predators I deal with are raccoons and coyotes. There is no evidence of kills, no piles of feathers, no pieces of birds, they are completely gone. I would also rule out thieves because I live in a dead end street with zero traffic, and my neighbors buy eggs, they like the birds.

I know it's kind of hard to really know based on what I have said but I thought I'd post something. I'm feeling a little desperate. I reinforced their run pretty heavily yesterday and today they are completely locked up. Normally they free range. I've lost a bird here and there in the past but nothing like this. I would guess I'm losing three every day. Interestingly enough none of my five roosters have been taken. Well I guess that's it. I have a shotgun or .22 loaded at every door in my house in case the predator(s) come looking for a meal.

 

[centrarchid]

No logic / information you provide rules out fox or coyote.

 

[cupman]

We don't have foxes here. Also, I said it was probably a coyote or raccoon.

 

[Imp]

I'm sorry.

Last year I had raccoons take one and leave no trace. I know it was raccoon because a neighbor witnessed it.

Maybe an eagle?

and I think you might be right that it could be a coyote.

Imp

 

[spikennipper]

Are they locked up overnight or during the day, also is the coop locked at night or do they have access to the run? I'm trying to work this out, if it was racoons/coyotes would you not see where they have broken into? need a bit more info as to how you house your birds during the day and night and when you last saw them all, did this happen during the day/night?

 

[centrarchid]

We don't have foxes here. Also, I said it was probably a coyote or raccoon.

You have three fox species in your state. One possibly two are very likely walking through your yard at least once a week. Look for red fox and grey fox. Ask neighbors about their presence in your neighborhood. You will find you have way more wildlife than you think, even when living in suburbs.

 

[cupman]

They free range during the day but are locked in the coop at night with no access in or out. Right now they are confined to their run until further notice. I looked for tracks but didn't find anything. I think this is probably one of those things where I won't ever know until I see it. The more I think about it the more I think it is a coyote. I will know in the next few days if anything tries to dig under the fence into my run. The back half of my house is all windows so when I am home I can always see them. I don't really know, I more made this post out of frustration. If I find the culprit I will post an update. I'm thinking of buying a couple snares.

 

[centrarchid]

Is your run covered? Canids which are most likely to catch elsewhere for consumption have very good clambering ability when it comes to fences. Six foot fence is easy for them to get over.

 

[cupman]

Trust me, we don't have foxes in my location. The park next to me made a big deal about them disappearing about a decade ago and we haven't personally seen them in maybe 15 years. Actually we get a notice every year asking us to report them if we do see them, but no one ever has. I know my area.

The run is gigantic and so it is not covered. It's probably 2500 square feet total. I will probably borrow someone's game cam and see what I find. If it is a fox that would be a pretty big deal. The park would be so excited. I would be baffled.

 

[centrarchid]

I predict the game cam will cause a bout of baffling. Absence of foxes odd unless coyote density unusually high or a disease knocked numbers down. If disease, then fox population could be rebounding.