My beloved Orps are gone...potential suspects!

[Buck Creek Chickens]

sorry for your loss

generally a coon will not come out in bad weather, unless they are desperate, can it be a weasel or a mink, when they taste blood they kill everything they can catch

 

[speckledhen]

Quote:

I'm just like you. I'd be thinking about how they felt while the carnage was happening. Let me know if I can do something for you. I don't have anything you'd want at the moment, but in the future, maybe I will. Again, I'm so sorry, Michelle.

 

[yotetrapper]

Sorry to hear that. Always is terrible to lose favorites.

 

[shelleyb1969]

Quote:
I suppose a mink is possible...we do have them here. But can a mink carry such a large heavy bird? Because the birds were carried from their roosting area...I'm sure they didn't blindly run out into the run in the snowy dark. And there definitely weren't any drag marks.

 

[lockedhearts]

Shelley,
Whenever you want some eggs let me know. My girls are laying well and I will gladly help you out! I am so sorry you are having to deal with this, I can only imagine how I would feel if I was in your situation.

Reading this, I am going to have to say it was a dog.

 

[shelleyb1969]

Thank you lockedhearts.

I do have a question now...

my 3 survivors...should I leave them where they are? Will they remain traumatized in that pen? Or should I move them? I'm not sure where they will be stressed the most...in their "home" pen or in a new pen?

 

[Mattemma]

So sorry for your loss! I would probably want to move them into a garage or something until I was able to secure the coop and kill whatever killed the chickens. Set some live traps and a game cam. Hope you catch something.

 

[new chick 203]

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

Quote:
I suppose a mink is possible...we do have them here. But can a mink carry such a large heavy bird? Because the birds were carried from their roosting area...I'm sure they didn't blindly run out into the run in the snowy dark. And there definitely weren't any drag marks.

yes a mink and a weesle can carry a lg bird, I had a a mink carry a lg duck from the duck yard to a wood pile in the back of the barn, and they can remove birds from the roost too

 

[cowdogcadillac]

same thing happened to me,,,,Racoons. They attacked and killed 4-5 birds,heads off,,chewed on a bird and left it alive with gaping wounds.Then they (3 of em) came back the next night and I got em.