Official BYC Poll: The Worst Predator

[dekel18042]

Racoons are the worst! They will find a way in, somehow, and will only give up when they are buried in your garden with several ounces of lead in them. When they show up, bad things always happen.

Bears, however, will tear up your chicken tractor like paper, if they get a mind to. Thankfully, however, they usually do not cause too many problems.

The only "good" thing (and I use the term loosely) is that raccoons are or should be night time only predators . Hawks attack during the day (Thankfully they are not the most efficient predator) and foxes can be out all hours of the day or night which makes them the worst in my book, plus they are next to impossible to catch or put a stop to.

 

[tiffdance]

We've lost 3 chickens in the last month to an unknown predator. We have a fenced yard that backs up to wetlands. 6 ft chain link in the back, 6 ft wood fence around the rest. Our yard is terribly overgrown with some weeds 4ft tall so there's plenty of room to hide. We were out of the habit of locking them up and heard an altercation at 2:30 in the morning and discovered a chicken missing the next day with traces of feathers. We've been locking them up since but have lost the other two at dusk before we lock them in. Any idea what it could be?

 

[IdahoChickenGuy]

Personally I think ravens are a formidable foe. They are the worst predator I have encountered. Most people don't realize but they will kill a full grown Buff Orpington and drag it away.

 

[CrazyChickLady7]

I have large outside dogs, that scare away or kill all of the ground animals. I did have an owl a couple weeks back that killed 4 ducks, i wouldn't have been so mad if owls didn't only eat the heads, and waste everything else. My main problem is the neighbors stupid shepherd. My only dog that has stood up to it is my husky. Sadly he was shot a couple months ago. Being my favorite dog, he is now inside. But a couple night ago my Anatolian shepherd fought the dog off. He won, but he was in pretty rough shape.

 

[mydeeone]

knock on wood... me either!

 

[Ironsights]

I have large outside dogs, that scare away or kill all of the ground animals. I did have an owl a couple weeks back that killed 4 ducks, i wouldn't have been so mad if owls didn't only eat the heads, and waste everything else. My main problem is the neighbors stupid shepherd. My only dog that has stood up to it is my husky. Sadly he was shot a couple months ago. Being my favorite dog, he is now inside. But a couple night ago my Anatolian shepherd fought the dog off. He won, but he was in pretty rough shape.

I lost two poults recently and only the heads were missing. I've been trying to figure out what did it. I was still in the process of covering the run a had it mostly covered. I went into the house for a half hour and the two poults heads were missing. We have owls but never see them in the day time.

 

[cabinchicky]

Hawks!The pair of red tails hatched two or three chicks of their own this year. we have been finding dead birds and squirrels laying around while they learn to hunt. am so ready for the lil buggers to be booted from the nest. Squeal, squeal all day long from them while my Roos give warnings, then the dogs next door bark.

 

[Ironsights]

I'm thinking of getting a Great Pyrenees to protect my birds and the place here. Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with them? I had a pit mix a year ago that a fantastic dog. He not only left the chickens alone, but didn't allow any predators around including two legged ones. He looked ferocious but was a real gentleman. Kids crawled all over him and he loved it. Unfortunately he got old and developed cancer. I really miss him.

 

[Ironsights]

I haven't seen what took out my flock or quail but I am guessing it was coons. First it took out 3. Ripped them right through the wires. So we covered them at night. That night we lost 2 more. I guess they used team work and one held the outer cover while the other moved the inner cover and yanked them through. Then we baracaded the entire wire area except for the one strip for the water bottle to go in... Those birds must've lined up and poked their heads into that one hole to get ripped out cuz 2 more disappeared that night. I now lock the last 2 up in a small enclosed wooden section. I am just waiting for those furry ******** to figure that one out.

I've learned that raccoons will reach in and grab whatever they can get ahold of and bite it off.

 

[Ironsights]

We've lost 3 chickens in the last month to an unknown predator. We have a fenced yard that backs up to wetlands. 6 ft chain link in the back, 6 ft wood fence around the rest. Our yard is terribly overgrown with some weeds 4ft tall so there's plenty of room to hide. We were out of the habit of locking them up and heard an altercation at 2:30 in the morning and discovered a chicken missing the next day with traces of feathers. We've been locking them up since but have lost the other two at dusk before we lock them in. Any idea what it could be?

There's an article here called predators and pests that describes the modus operandi of predators. I learned a lot from it. If you know what kind of predators you have you can pretty much narrow it down and learn how to prevent losing your flock.