Missing without a trace, 4 in a week

[Judy]

Quote:
This also might be a clue that it was not a coyote, in spite of the typical coyote pattern of disappearing without a trace. I have occasionally had a fox take them this way, though they usually leave feathers.

 

[rebel yell]

Set traps & catch it, then there is know doubt.

 

[Mark]

rebel yell,

What kind of trap? I've got a live trap that has caught a raccoon and several opossums, but I'm not sure it would catch a fox.

Mark

 

[Mark]

We just lost another hen. As my wife put it, it was 'eerie'.

Late in the afternoon, my wife and our dogs had been at the goat shed. The chickens were hanging around with her, the dogs and the goats. I was about 100 yards away from the goat pen, working in the garden.

An hour and a half before dark (4:30 PM), she and the dogs came up to the house for 30 minutes, then went outside again to watch the chickens go to bed. This was an hour before dark.

When my wife got back to the chickens, one of our 3 Rhode Island Reds was gone.

We hunted for signs of her, but the hen has simply vanished. None of the remaining 11 chickens were upset. The goats were not upset. Even though I was outside quietly working in the garden, I didn't hear anything.

The weird part is that whatever is hunting our chickens, it was watching what my wife and the dogs were doing and took advantage of their departure.

 

[chicks4kids]

Check out my sig. link for a trap that you can build. I lost my 'big duck' to a bull mastiff one night. didn't know it was a dog that got him-I thought it was a coyote. A few days after my hubby built this live trap for me (the one in my sig.) we trapped a bull mastiff. We found the owners (2 miles away) and had them come and get him. Told him of the situation and our concerns. 9 days later we caught the same dog.

Build a trap...you'll be surprised at what you catch. And please don't think that the first thing that you catch is the culprit. If you bait your trap every night for 2 weeks straight, I bet you'd catch at least 5 predators.

 

[jjthink]

Too many losses - the only way to prevent more was/is complete lockdown until/unless pred found or until/unless a pred proof run is provided. The pred has a lock on the birds and will take them by one one until none are left. Frustrating, I know, but they have to be safeguarded right now.
JJ

 

[Tropical Chook]

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but it did catch my attention because I've lost two small chicks recently, and also with no sign of anything. The first was last week, and then again last night. They are confined to the coop/run and the place is very secure. The only things which could possibly get in are rats and snakes, and then only if it's a small size of rat or snake. I'm leaning towards rats because I have seen a few about, so tonight I will be setting traps and drowning them will take place in the morning.

My one question is, would a rat eat a 2 day old chick and leave absolutely no trace of it at all, or does it sound more like the work of a snake? We do get rat snakes, cobras, and vipers visiting the property from time to time, but apart from the vipers, the others we've seen were far too big to get into the run.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

BTW....to the OP, you need to keep your birds confined until the critter taking them has been sent to meet its maker.

 

[Mark]

JJ,

Yes. A lock down is necessary.

We are not prepared for this. I've got to come up with a way to hang the food and water so they don't knock them over or fill them with dirt.

Mark

 

[rockinpaints]

I saw a fox running down our road with a chicken the other day

(scared the cr-p out of me but it wasn't one of mine)

 

[Bizzybirdy]

Same here a couple years ago...when my chickens were free ranging they were disappearing one a day. One morning I was driving down my road and an earlier car had run over a fox carrying one of my roosters! Both were dead...glad it took care of the fox but sad for my roo. Apparently the fox was grabbing one chicken every morning around dawn when they would come down from the tree where they roosted. I couldn't figure it out...it didn't leave a trace, just grabbed and ran.

No other problems with foxes until this evening when I was driving home just after dark and I saw one running down the road. Always something after the poor chickens. Now they are all put up at night though.