My beloved Orps are gone...potential suspects!

[SilverPhoenix]

I am so, so sorry for your losses. How devastating! My heart breaks for you and the birds you lost, and the survivors, too. I hope you catch the predator ASAP.

 

[shelleyb1969]

I'm definitely not ruling out a raccoon attack...that's still a very big possibility. However, the only tracks I've ever found in the vicinity of my pens and main coop have been dog tracks and rabbit tracks. My Orps were the only ones that weren't locked into their roosting area at night. I chose not to do that for ventilation reasons. I had been wondering yesterday, as silly as it sounds, how a predator would even know that chickens were back in that "maze" of a pen? The entire area out there smells like, well, chicken. So their scent didn't give them away. But then, at 4am this morning, it dawned on me as to how, mainly a dog, would know that chickens were on the other side of that fence...THE ROOSTERS CROWING. I really think that the predator may not have been "focused" on that pen had it not been for them hearing the crows of the roosters...it somewhat lured them. Yes, I have plenty of other roosters, but they're all in enclosed pens that are not so easily accessible as my Orp pen WAS. And the bodies of the dead birds were not completely stiff, so the attack had happened sometime in the early morning hours...probably just after the roosters decided to wake up the world.

This is just my theory and I reserve the right to change it after I catch and dispose of whatever did this.

 

[newtochick]

Aww, in that case it could be a dog, either way, I am really sorry you had to deal with that. It is just horrid and I can't begin to imagine what you are feeling, I hope you did not think I was being rude in my post. I was honestly just trying to be helpful. Please know that I am hurting for you and hope you figure out who did this and take care of it so you can feel just a tiny bit better! All the best!
Beckie

 

[WillieBoy]

I agree with the other posters saying, if a coon it could take a few nights before it retuns.Sometimes my trap is working 3-4 nights before i get 'em... It sure sounds like the work of a coon. I know you've seen dog tracks, but the attack/eating part sounds like a coon...Good luck getting whatever it is...!

 

[shelleyb1969]

Quote:
I didn't interpret your post as anything other than helpful and kind, Beckie.

Thank you. I'm sorry if I made you think I took offense...because I definitely didn't.

I appreciate anyone and everyone's opinions, experience, and advice.

 

[gronsk]

I have seen such a massacre and caught the raccoon in the act. They seem to kill for sport, and then food.
We lost a young blue cochin roo to a day time attack recently. He was a beauty and would have been the future
king of the hens. We had hatched him. Never had a daytime attack from other than a dog before. Hawks had gotten
neighbors birds but never ours.
Forgive yourself.

 

[jadeflower999]

I am so sorry about your Buff Orpingtons
I guess you never know but from my personal experience it does not sound like a raccoon, I had a coon that I shot killing my hens, he was killing one a night and eating the whole bird until I got him. But we did have a weasel or mink which killed in the manner you described, seemingly just for fun. I've heard sometimes mink will line their dead up next to each other. But that awful weasel we had killed my whole flock as well in one night. I am so sorry about yours, take care.

 

[shelleyb1969]

Last night was yet again, uneventful. In a way, that's a good thing. But it's torturous not knowing what predator attacked my flock. I live in a remote area, so raccoon "food" is scarce with the winter we're having. So I really think that if I were dealing with a coon, it would've been back by now. I even set the live trap in the empty pen last night, baited with cat food, and nothing....no tracks, no nothing. The cat food was still in the trap this morning, so apparently I don't have a huge issue with mice/rats either. It's pretty obvious to me that whatever killed my darlings did so for fun, and not for food. I'm going to go out through my hay pastures (which are laden with snow), and see if I find any tracks of any kind. These sleepless nights are taking a toll...not sure how much longer I can maintain and remain sane.

 

[shelleyb1969]

After 3 nights of non-stop nighttime predator patrol, with absolutely no signs of anything, I decided to call my neighbors.
I really feel that this was a dog attack for 3 reasons:
1) no birds were actually eaten, so it wasn't a hungry predator
2) neither THE culprit nor any other chicken predator has returned as my baited traps have remained empty and still full of bait every morning
3) I just found out that I have some new neighbors with 2 large dogs that have been spotted roaming the area during late night/early morning hours (between 1-2am)

I'm unable to "visit" my new neighbors today, but plan to do so tomorrow. I've chosen to give all of my neighbors fair warning that if I see/catch any dog on my property, it will be disposed of (in one way or another) and will not be returning home to them.

Unfortunately, if I ever do catch the exact dog(s) that did this, I'll be unable to get compensation for my birds. But I WILL get justice for them.

 

[speckledhen]

Sounds like likely suspects, Michelle. Don't you hate that this is the way you must meet new neighbors? Ack, I hate that for you, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Let us know if they seem reasonable.