MORE info wanted about our killer , some help needed

[Labradors]

When I was a kid in England, we used to have a cat that was allowed outside. He would get fed at night, and would get used to coming in for his food and then he was kept inside until morning.

I feed my chickens in the coop, so that there is no access to food for predators at night. I also empty all the outside water bowls and clean them for the next day.

Linda

 

[strangeanimal]

I would stop leaving the cat food out all the time, take it in at night. Mice, rats, possums, raccoons, and other animals will eat it, and come back bc they know it's there. You're drawing predators to your yard. We had a possum that took over our cat house one winter bc of the cat food. For the chickens.. I'd try to get them in the coop at night, if possible & lock them in to keep them safe. If possible, you could do a live trap, but you'd have to bring your cats in.

Hi , thanks for your advice , yes I took all catthings in this morning already but getting THESE chickens in their coop ? no way on earth that is possible ! these chickens are having already a hard time , they are used to live free ranged , some are even that old I do remember that my dad used to say they were gonna end up as food , but I kept them the way they were , just free ranged in a forest , now I had to force them to learn to eat out of a feeder , learning to be confined and yet still being aware of the fact " guys you are safe comooooon !!! " they do not like to sleep in the coop , sometimes the rooster does but the rest does not even follow anymore -_- , I will try to lock them up tonight because that was the plan already yet they will be noisy and in great panic ! But what else can you do ? everyone is locking their flock up ! even during day ! one neighbour has taken everythin out of his garage and builded perches and a gate to lock them up day AND night , he lost 5 hens and 1 roo ! and everyone replies : must have been the rats ! other replies are : what could it have been ? did u keep your cat in or out ?
That sort of thing is going on in the entire neighbourhood here ever since they started with the forest !

 

[strangeanimal]

When I was a kid in England, we used to have a cat that was allowed outside. He would get fed at night, and would get used to coming in for his food and then he was kept inside until morning.

I feed my chickens in the coop, so that there is no access to food for predators at night. I also empty all the outside water bowls and clean them for the next day.

Linda

oh so also their nightfood ? ok roger that one ! can't risk this anymore .
Thanks Linda and all of you who are brainstorming with us !!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Wharf rats can get as big as cats. I believe what your neighbor saw. Predators don't read the books, they don't all behave the way a certain animal is supposed to behave. That doesn't sound like a rat kill with the head torn off but it is certainly possible.

If mice or rats were eating the cat food you would see droppings in the feed bowl. That may be happening anyway, but with the food disappearing I'd suspect something bigger than mice. It is very possible that whatever critter is eating the cat food is not the one that killed the chicken. But it might be.

I once had an owl walk into a coop and kill a chicken. It took the head clean off. I did not see where it was eating the chicken, I may have scared it off before it had a chance, but don't totally discount an owl.

A lot of predators attack the head first. That's where they can do the most damage quickly. I don't know what potential predators you have in Belgium but I'd think the list is pretty long. I don't have a real clue as to what critter you are dealing with. As you mentioned it doesn't fully meet the criteria of any. it's interesting to that it took a chicken inside the coop and not one roosting outside.

A Polish or Silkie is usually a bantam, fairly small compared to many other chickens. It's quite possible the chicken's size had a lot to do with it being singled out.

So what can you do? The best way to protect them is to lock them in a secure coop at night. I know that presents some problems for you. Somehow something got in the coop so at least try to decide how it got in and fix that to protect the ones inside.

You need to know what you are dealing with. That will tell you how to trap it or otherwise make it difficult for it to get in. Determining what it is may not be easy. Tracks or scat (poop) are often used to identify an animal. You might try scattering flour where it is likely to walk to help you find tracks. A game camera can show you a lot of things.

 

[Zoomie]

Well, it sounds like a cat kill to me. You do have a wildcat that lives there. It's kind of small (not the size of a mountain lion, that's for sure!!!) but could easily have done this. You also have a genet that lives there, and both these animals kill with a bite to the neck (which could result in the head being taken off).

Both these animals can climb trees, and tend to hunt at night (but not always, of course). So your flock roosting in the trees are not safe. (Of course, it's hard to explain that to a chicken.) Do you have a pen you could lure them into, with some really yummy treats like scratch or mealworms? Once they are in you could close the door. That might be easier than climbing trees! If you can lock your flock up for a while, you could build or buy them a good run that they can't get out of and predators can't get in to. Since there are others there with chickens the devastation might be spread around, but rest assured: this animal will come back.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

not sure of the predators you have there (i live in Canada) how ever do you have any members of the weasel family where you live (as with the head missing i would say raccoon but those you don't have) such as weasels, mink (i do know there is a European mink) fisher (not sure if you have any of them) marten? as where i camp a mink or marten got into a chicken pen (it was a petting zoo they have there) and ripped just the heads off of 3 chickens)

now i am sorry i really have no clue what to do over there for helping the problem (as i know trapping was banned there in most of Europe) as i would suggest just trapping said animal in there season/get a professional trapper.

 

[Sara Ranch]

*hugs*