Official BYC Poll: The Worst Predator

[Rob Tof]

Dog My neighbor lost two to a loose dog.

 

[Abriana]

I picked hawk because in the year and three months i have had my chickens i have lost but one pullet to a hawk and no other predator issues.

 

[Vivi Kaye]

I pick raccoons because they are shapeshifters, and can get in a hole in your coop that is smaller than you would ever think they could. Once inside, they will just slaughter multiple chickens and leave them with only their heads eaten. And it's always 3:30 in the morning.

 

[MissyC2012]

I was curious as to which predator the most chickens have been lost to.

We lost 3 chickens on Saturday and 2 more on Tuesday to a fox who tore through the fencing in our run by the coop. Chicken hawks were bad before we put a roof on the run.

 

[barred2rock]

I was just putting up my chickens for the night. Two of the birds refused to go in. While I was attempting to corral them, I looked over my shoulder and there was a Fox walking on by. I yelled at it, to hopefully keep it from coming back.

 

[corn flake]

All of my rooster and hens have been " played with" by neighbors dogs. And, my own.. I have lost all of them. Starting over with , NO DOGS ALLOWED. LOL

 

[GardenTillers44]

We tried free ranging a couple years ago and lost one of our hens right away. It just didn't come to roost and we never did find out what became of it. That is the only one we have lost to a possible predator. The neighbors have all had a slaughter at one time or another due to both raccoons and mink, so we decided to tighten up the habitat and put up a 300 ft electric poultry mesh perimeter around an outdoor ranging area and the coop with attached run. We tried to make the coop and run impervious to everything from mice to coyotes. We have hawks and owls in the area, but so far they have not bothered our large breeds while ranging during the day. Raccoons, possums etc. are easy to trap and can be controlled fairly well. The most feared critter around here among the chicken wranglers seems to be the abundance of weasels, both long-tailed and mink. They are smart predators, tough to control and once in the coop will kill at will.

 

[ManO'War]

I lost the last 7 of my 3 year old Plymouth Rocks to a mink who slashed the throat from beak to the breast a few winters ago. Quite a shock going to water and feed them. He had the guts to hang around for a week or so afterwards but I could not trap or shoot him. I've had a couple of ermine (short tailed weasel) and they just hung out in the garage catching mice.

 

[Hybridchucks]

I HATE weasels! That is terrible.....sorry for your loss

 

[RinzHens]

Personally had a bobcat attack some rehab mallards. No loss but a month of healing. Seems to be a local north Texas backyard chicken problem. Agile enough to get into residential areas.