My Flock got attacked last night

[centrarchid]

I have kids as well. They get involved at every step which includes looking at crime scene. We discuss what we see and kids are given role to help track what happened. Kids also help police carcasses to use them as bait. I have been a little squeamish with kids seeing how predators dispatched but dogs overrode that by ripping raccoons from traps or catching opossum in open field. Kids handling all well but do not quite understand why I get mad.

Kids also have gotten to observe carcass breakdown by insects where we check on things every day.

 

[ryan820]

Well, I took to heart what you all said and I beefed up my defenses, essentially caging them in and yet somehow... it happened again. I even made sure the door closed at night but whatever it is that attacks my flock pried the door open. Of my 15 bird flock, 4 remain. I'm gutted. I will spend the time after work going over every single seam of our run to see where it got in. If it is prying doors open, its prying wire open, too, which means I need to be even more robust on my set up.

I have a camera ready to go. I didn't put one up before because I had to order a new one and it only just arrived.

Sh!t.

 

[Zoomie]

@ryan820 so very sorry to hear that. That is horrible.

I have gone through this very thing, and now, even though the neighbors laugh at me, I have EXTREMELY well-fortified coops. It's just so hard to go through that experience of getting up in the morning and finding your flock devastated. My one coop has a cement floor, there is plate steel up to about 2', the coop itself has steel pipe as the framework. Not even a bear can get in that coop. And yes, they WILL pry up the door. You are probably dealing with a raccoon. They can get in through surprisingly small holes, and will actually rip siding off your barn to get in, or rip holes in chicken wire, they are just so strong it's incredible.

Start making Fort Knox, and best of luck in keeping your birds safe.

 

[ryan820]

@ryan820 so very sorry to hear that. That is horrible.

I have gone through this very thing, and now, even though the neighbors laugh at me, I have EXTREMELY well-fortified coops. It's just so hard to go through that experience of getting up in the morning and finding your flock devastated. My one coop has a cement floor, there is plate steel up to about 2', the coop itself has steel pipe as the framework. Not even a bear can get in that coop. And yes, they WILL pry up the door. You are probably dealing with a raccoon. They can get in through surprisingly small holes, and will actually rip siding off your barn to get in, or rip holes in chicken wire, they are just so strong it's incredible.

Start making Fort Knox, and best of luck in keeping your birds safe.

Thanks, Zoomie-- I will. This happens to hit during avery busy week for me, too, so I will need to sort something out until I can get to the weekend and begin my fortifications. I will put motion sensing lights around the coops, too, just to give me a warning that something might be amiss as I can see the coop a bit from my house in the main area. Light usually sends critters running in my parts of colorado.

Thankfully I took the time to catch my daughter this morning to break the news to her. As usual, she was more concerned about me! The kid adores those chickens... but she gets that this stuff happens and that it is now our responsibility to protect the chickens even more. She'll be with me wiring and hammering and doing whatever is needed.

 

[Mama Runner]

I'm so sorry for your loss

 

[NancyNurseCxMama]

So sorry for your losses!! I can't imagine...I would be devastated.
As others have said, possibly a raccoon but could have been a fox, too.
A neighbor of ours has a game cam recording of a fox prying open the bottom of his run door---the fox worked on it until he could squeeze through and then did his damage.
The door was flimsy and has since been heavily reinforced.
Another possibility would be a weasel or mink---they can get through spaces as small as one inch and are very destructive.