Nothing I have read match this slaughter ....

[angsaidso]

Okay, I have looked and looked and have not found anything that resembles this kind of slaughter I experienced last night. Hopefully someone here can help ...

My pheasant and chukars were killed last night. En masse .... however .... no beheading.

My coop is not disturbed. No holes, tunnels or any fence damage. The poultry netting overhead is fully intact. The door was secured the way I had left it. No broken anything ...

Yet, the biggest birds were dead inside the coop, on their sides, gutted from the side of the body ... .feathers and skin gone, with entrails strewn everywhere. The smallest ones were just plain missing, a few body parts outside in the yard. They did not look eaten. Just killed and mangled. One banty roo was missing his legs, but still killed the same. One pheasant had all of the skin and feathers ripped from her head, but not killed ... I had to do that. :-(

Any ideas? I want to know what it is so I know how to stop it. But I am thinking best way is a bullet. I might just have to stay awake tonight and wait for it. We all know ... they always return. And I have wood ducks, mandarins and other birds to protect.

Thank for any ideas.
Ang

 

[LiveVintage]

Do you have weasels in your area? Very sorry for your loss though.

 

[angsaidso]

I have weasels, mink and fisher cats around here, although I have never seen them. But my understanding is weasels bite heads off and whatnot, but these birds were literally gutted from the side ... the heads weren't bothered on the birds, no bite marks, etc

 

[centrarchid]

A given predator may not have read the rules we expect them to play by when doing their business. Raccoon most likely to do as you describe. Look for components of coop that might forced open and then close again after animal passes. Raccoons are very good at forcing through openings they create.

 

[curdogs]

I would all most think two legged predator with the coop having no damage, are you in a feud with some one?, did you shot a dog some time even a year ago or more?

 

[Ashburnham]

Sounds similar to a ferret attack I had a couple of years ago.

 

[angsaidso]

The flight pen is built with chicken netting (two layers ... one layer of two inch with a layer of one inch over the top to keep the quail in. Then I have two inch poultry netting stretched over the top, down the sides and hog ringed on at three inch intervals. The gate is made out of the same and overlaps the coop edges by four inches. The bottom is sunk in and then bordered by pressure treated 2x4s to support it and keep it from being floppy. Nothing was ripped, torn or broken. No holes, nothing pushed up or moved. I have no "beef" with either neighbor and haven't bothered anyone. I mind my own business. I cannot imagine a human being coming in the night and spending time ripping entrails out of the birds and flinging them, but there are some crazy nut jobs out there.

We don't have wild ferret here, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was a fisher or something similar. It just doesn't fit their normal pattern ... gutting them and leaving them all over with their heads. :-(

Ang

 

[Chicken Master1]

that sounds weird but i am vey sorry for your loss.

 

[curdogs]

Time for security cam. Do the wounds look like claw, fang or knife maybe just grabbed and ripped. Can you post pics.?

 

[ivan3]

Sorry for your loss.

Here, in Midwest, I'd guess coon (as was mentioned). However, no sign of entry/exit (no hair/fur/feathers/traces of blood on fencing/etc.) and I'd guess Fisher Cat (do an Advanced Search - other members have had their flocks decimated in similar fashion).

If it is dry enough, dust perimeter of coop/run with flour (Id tracks). If elec. is an option then the aforementioned security cam is useful - $20.00 baby monitor in coop with indoor unit cranked next to bed will get one moving towards door (have rifle/shotgun and spotlight ready to grab on the way out).

I'd suggest setting a couple of live traps and a couple of tube traps (for Fishers, in particular). One cannot trap all preds - and more will show up - but overall frequency of predation can be significantly decreased.

Electric fencing/hardware cloth might be necessary.

Good luck!