My chickens were killed

[malpal.chickens]

so i’ve been having a really bad day...ive always wanted chickens so a few months ago i started doing research and bought a coop and supplies. i made the mistake of buying chicks online and shopping them in from far away and it didn’t go well. i ordered 7 chicks and only 2 were alive when they came, and they died a few days later. that made me super sad so i wasn’t sure if i wanted to try again, but i found a local hatchery and bought 3 healthy chicks. and for the past couple months i’ve been raising them and buying them toys and hanging out with them all the time. they were growing up and about to start laying eggs and their adult feathers were coming in so beautiful and today i found out they were killed in the night by a raccoon. i guess it figured out how to open the latch and got in. i’m extremely upset and i don’t know what to do. i feel like a failure.

 

[The Phantom]

Sorry for you loss!
My $600 pheasants were killed by some stupid coons. After that happened we have been shooting them. I think we have shot around 23 now. I also put up 3 strand electric wire that runs 13 thousand volts. So they will be fried if they try again.

 

[bycjohn]

That's really devastating. Once when our old dog died after 15 years, I raised a couple of new doggies & when they were about a year old, I raised a couple hens & one hen went broody & I placed eggs and got 8 chicks which were so cute! I spent the day taking pictures of them & in the night as usual I let my dogs in our yard. They run around freely all night and come into their kennels if they want to.

Past midnight I woke up to loud shrieks. I went out & saw both my beloved doggies inside the Coop. They'd ripped apart the wire mesh and killed the mother hen & all the chicks. They didn't eat any of it though. They were just fascinated by the new chicks & thought they were game!

It was devastating to say the least! But then I started back up again & this time around I taught my doggies the chicks are part of our household too. They understood it and now they don't harm the chicks even if they get too close even when they're having their food!

So don't lose heart. Just make sure you get your latch replaced with a padlock latch.
Failure is a bruise, not a tattoo. Cheers!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

So sorry for your loss and hard time.

Raccoon are nasty predators.

Maybe you weren't informed of how crafty they are or didn't know what predators you would be facing... if a three year old can get in, so can coon. A second fail safe is ALWAYS a good idea and I use them daily. I will even go out during the night if I realize I forgot the secondary one.

Every hole MUST be covered in 1/2 inch or smaller hardware cloth or they will reach in and rip birds heads off.

Listen you can't know what you don't know... you are NOT a failure. You are chickeneer who got off to a REALLY bad start.

Most feed stores have already quit carrying chicks for the season. Craigslist farm and garden section *can* be a good place to find chicks (not preferred since boys are a possibility) and point of lay hens (beware of parasites and disease).

If you decide to trap the coon, you must be prepared to dispatch it. Relocation is usually illegal and VERY inhumane.

I hope you will regroup, and start AGAIN... with your new knowledge! If you need a break and maybe not this season, next season. It can be very rewarding. Usually the good outweighs the bad in sooo many ways... but since you had such a rough start.. maybe you will get a break with many years of good to come.

 

[Ray and Sophie]

We are really sorry for your loss. We put so much time and emotional energy that it hurts when we loose our chickens.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Failure is a bruise, not a tattoo. Cheers!

That is a lovely sentiment.

 

[50-45-1]

I had a broody hens years ago in one of my rabbit hutches with her chicks she had just hatched out about 4 days before.
Sometime one night something slid off two full size cement blocks from the top, got inside the hutch and ate her and her chicks.
I staked her out just a few feet from the hutch and set 4 leg hold traps around her. Had 3 possoms the next morning. Dispatched them and reset the traps and had 2 more possoms the next morning.
Everything eats chicken.
I am sorry for your loss, but dont give up. Unfortunately these things happen and we learn from our mistakes. You are a kind hearted consiensious person. There is a future flock waiting for you.

 

[Kiki]

I am sorry for your loss.

That is a lovely sentiment.

I agree.

 

[cmom]

This is part of owning chickens. Pretty much everyone who owns or has owned chickens have lost their share to a predator. I my self have had plenty. One that really baffled me was I could not find a place where any predator had penetrated. I put a game camera up and saw the predator, it was an owl. Since you have everything and are set up I'm sure you can outsmart the coon and maybe you or a friend can trap him. I'm sure he will be back. I have to protect from predators such as coyotes, fox, coons, possums, bobcats, skunks, owls, hawks, There all here and looking for a chicken dinner. I have electric around my pens and coops for the diggers. When they touch the wire they don't come back to test it again. Concrete under the gates for the diggers, Netting over the pens for the owls and hawks. I haven't lost a bird to a predator for a long time but have had my share in the past. We are rural. I do have some game cameras set up in different places on our property and most nights see critters on them. Don't give up, good luck and have fun...

 

[cmom]