My First Loss

[WillieBoy]

Sorry for your loss,i lost my first two hens a couple weeks ago to a cat.Sounds like the work of a coon. As mentioned try a live trap, i bait with a can of smelly cat food, seems to catch well. I've caught so many coons trying to get my new 14 golden comets its amazing..! They just keep coming.
I make sure my girls are always in and locked up at dusk,this is a must..! Sadly, that didn't help my two NH Reds, they were killed in broad day light. Since i shot the cat, licking it chops not ten feet from the fresh killed NH Red, the killing has stopped.
Although, i was lectured it was hard to comprehend a cat could kill such a large breed chicken, i know i removed the correct predator.
Nuff said...? Good luck ....

 

[Xtina]

I lost my first chicken last night too! Oh, the horror. I heard a death screech coming from the coop at 1 a.m. while i was feeding my baby. I yelled for the husband to release the dogs, but it was too late. I had to clean up a dead body this morning. I had been lulled into a false sense of security because I had forgotten to shut my coop a few times and nothing happened, so I thought the dogs were keeping raccoons at bay. I admittedly got lazy and my buff orpington paid the price. No more laziness. The coop is getting worked on by the husband to make it easier for me to open and shut it. I'm putting out a trap, getting a better feeder and waterer so that I don't feel bad about their lack of access in the morning before I get to them, and being very diligent about shutting my girls up at night.

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

I don't even have a coop door installed yet....I feel my run is super secure, but now I think I'll revisit that. I'd hate to have this happen. I'm sorry you lost your favorite. I hear that often here...it's like the predators know who to go after.