zimmer12
In the Brooder
- Jul 21, 2016
- 1
- 0
- 10
I have 9 week old chicks. They have been living outside in a separate cage to get used to my hens and the temperatures before I moved them into a coop. Saturday morning I came out to a small hole dug under the cage and one chick gone. There were some large feathers from several birds inside and outside the cage. The wing of the missing chick was outside the cage and also a clump of feathers and flesh. I moved the cage and put chicken wire under it that wrapped around the edges and was secured with wire. Sunday morning they we all good. Monday morning I came out and saw feathers and a wound on a bird. The animal had tried digging but hit the wire and stopped. I noticed later he had forced the door off track a bit (it's held in place by a spring), but the hole left behind was maybe only three inches. The cage is a dog run, and is heavy metal with 1" openings. The openings are long rectangles not squares like hardwire.
Here's where is gets really bad. So stop reading if you don't want the graphic details. One had a large section of the shoulder taken off, muscle exposed. And the tip of the opposite wing is torn open. The second chicken had her wing ripped off, its gone. The bones are still there, clean of flesh, and the wing was removed at the joints. Both are still alive right now, although I don't think for much longer.
All the remaining chicks are moving inside the coop tonight. Don't worry the run will no longer be used. I need help identifying the predator so I can protect my coop and my rabbits. I know we have raccoons, barn cats, opossum, and fishers in the area. All have been spotted in my yard at some point over the last few years. Also weasels in the region but not in my neighborhood. I'm suspecting raccoon or opossum based on my research. But I found no reference to anyone having a thing for ripping off wings. I know a fisher is strong enough but I have a bunny who is very easy prey right now in temporary housing. I feel like a fisher would have started their.
Has anyone experienced this before and got a guess what the animal was? It's could be a very bag summer if I can't get rid of it.
Thanks!
Here's where is gets really bad. So stop reading if you don't want the graphic details. One had a large section of the shoulder taken off, muscle exposed. And the tip of the opposite wing is torn open. The second chicken had her wing ripped off, its gone. The bones are still there, clean of flesh, and the wing was removed at the joints. Both are still alive right now, although I don't think for much longer.
All the remaining chicks are moving inside the coop tonight. Don't worry the run will no longer be used. I need help identifying the predator so I can protect my coop and my rabbits. I know we have raccoons, barn cats, opossum, and fishers in the area. All have been spotted in my yard at some point over the last few years. Also weasels in the region but not in my neighborhood. I'm suspecting raccoon or opossum based on my research. But I found no reference to anyone having a thing for ripping off wings. I know a fisher is strong enough but I have a bunny who is very easy prey right now in temporary housing. I feel like a fisher would have started their.
Has anyone experienced this before and got a guess what the animal was? It's could be a very bag summer if I can't get rid of it.
Thanks!
Probably raccoon, they are known to reach in a rip heads off through the wire, so wing isn't too far fetched. It's why 1/2 inch hardware cloth is suggested. When installed correctly it will keep all predators you indicated out.
