My rooster was killed and 1 hen is missing

[Messybare]

I am new to raising chickens. I just got my girls and a 4 month old rooster in April. This morning I found my rooster dead inside the coop he was torn apart and his head was missing. I also have one of my hens missing. There were feathers everywhere and thankfully my other 9 hens were unharmed inside the coop. I am devastated, I feel like I let them down. We reinforced the run and coop and locked the coop up tonight. I always lock the run up every night, but never locked the coop door inside the run, I will now lock the coop door every night as well. How do I protect my girls? I need suggestions. What would have done this? What else can I do to make them safe? Should I get another rooster?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I personally know how heart breaking it is to go to the coop to find dead animals.

My guess your culprit is a raccoon.

They can open doors and pry chicken wire apart.

Hardware cloth and solid wood is recommended to prevent determined critters.

I use a strong latch with a "C" clip on the coop door so that coons can't open it. My nest box lids are heavy and weighted down.

And as you've seen, always lock them tight in the actual coop with pop door latched and closed.

I'd also put a trap out to get the coon (presuming that is what it was).

Once they've been successful, they come back night after night until the flock is gone.

Hopefully you can catch the critter. (Check your local ordinances to see what permissions you have to do what...most ordinances allow trapping of predators when livestock are harmed).

LofMc

 

[junebuggena]

Sounds like raccoons. They will reach in through fencing and tear apart anything they can reach. Sorry you had to learn this the hard way, but chickens need to be in shut in a secure coop every single night. Chickens have terrible night vision and are in a trance-like state at night. They are completely helpless. A rooster is a great early warning for daytime predators, but they are useless when it comes to night time predators.

 

[centrarchid]

Assume raccoon for now. If you do not know coop critter proof, then move remaining birds to a secure location. Tomorrow setup a trap in coop and work to make so coop and run more predator resistant.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome, and I'm so sorry for your loss. It's happened to many of us, and we learn the hard way that there's no such thing as too much protection for our birds. Catch and shoot that (probable) raccoon, and upgrade your coop and run. All the best, Mary

 

[Messybare]

Thank you, we did reinforce the run and coop today. Tomorrow I will going to the store and getting everything I possibly can to catch this thing and also will be making improvements to the coop and run

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Here's a video clip on how to catch a coon.

The most important thing is to place the bait can so that the coon can't reach in and pull the bait between the bars. It also has to be tied down so that the coon can't walk off with it.

Check the trap to make sure it also snaps cleanly. The first night we had it caught on a corner of the coop and didn't close...freeing the coon.

They especially love tuna fish. (Although we caught ours with a can of smoked oysters).

Many places it is illegal to trap and release, so check your ordinances. (In our location, it is legal for the owner to trap and euthanize to protect livestock).

Good luck getting the critter.
Lofmc

Setting the trap

The Bait jar (you don't have to use 3 different kind of meats)

 

[Awestruck]

I just lost my rooster probably from a raccoon. The rooster ended up in our yard and lived there for a couple of months. We really didn't have a place for him, and for a while he slept in the bushes. Then he started roosting on the railing on the barn porch. We found him Monday morning on the ground. I wish now we could have done something to prevent it. We were so concerned because of the hawks that are around us, that we didn't really consider the fact that other animals could attack too. The reason I think it was a raccoon is because I found some animal bowel movements on the ground nearby. I had seen this type of bowel movements at my other house, where I had lots of raccoons.
We miss our rooster, even though we only had him for about 2 months or so. Wish we would have protected him better. Sorry about your rooster and hen.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I have caught plenty of dumb raccoons in a cage trap. However, wise raccoons will ignore a cage trap no matter the bait.
In the last 2 weeks I had 2 traps set about 20' apart, both with the same bait.
Not a thing touched the cage trap. In the duke style dog-proof leg trap I caught 7 raccoons.

 

[Messybare]

I have set up two traps and so far nothing. We caught a smaller cat the first night. We reinforced their coop and run and so far it looks like nothing has tried to get in. I am having trouble with my hens going into their coop at night, they jump up onto the roof which is only 6ft tall. Any suggestions? We just keep picking them off their roof and put them in their coop every night.