Official BYC Poll: The Worst Predator

[KazAnder Farms]

I knew the economy was in a recession. Heck i knew there were lots of folks on unemployment or even past that. But never did i believe that some folks could or would bust into my coop (keep in mind you can fit 20 people inside it comfortably standing or sitting) and nab my flock

. I would have to say Man has been my worst predator.

Really the logistics are pretty amazing. the coop leads to the yard which is not easy for people to get in or out of, doable but not easy. Probably why i had 3 left. he/she/they stole 36 of my babies all in one morning. No bodies, no feathers, no blood. They quite literally cleaned me out. Soo, were starting over with locks and security and such.

 

[lukejmorrison]

my neighbors dog keeps coming to my chicken coop and barking at my chickens....grrrrr i also had a raccoon and a skunk trying to get in....

 

[Grim]

i put weasel, but really the whole family. a martin will kill just for the fun of it.

 

[Harlequin]

i put dog because almost every chicken death i've had was because of my darn stupid dog. cant get rid of her because ive had her a long time even before we had chickens. she's gotten 5 i think including a black copper maran rooster who tried to defend a hen she got ahold of

she's even inside a kennel that has poultry netting around the bottom. if she gets one more im shooting her, im sick of her killing stuff. /rant <3 my chickens, even more since joining BYC

 

[Cass]

Quote:

I have always said "I love kids; Medium rare with gravy"

 

[farmerjan70]

Well, here we go again. It was a small hawk this time. Practically flew into me going after the hens 15 minutes after letting them out. So after locking them in that night, and keeping them in for several days, my son found one of his best purebred show roosters dead, head eaten, neck stripped, and a small brown "bird" flying around in the run. It had gotten in by getting between the coop and the attached run, 1" chicken wire, and killed the rooster. It did not get out to kill again. I lost over 25 free range layers to it over the course of the summer and that was getting expensive!!!!! It's body wasn't as big as a bantam hen, wingspan nearly 3 feet. I didn't get to see it to identify it, but since then have had no problems with my free ranging hens. It was about a 1/3 mile from the pasture where the hens forage. Guess it got tired of waiting for me to let out it's daily ration of free chicken meals.....Have seen a red fox that has mange, no hair on the tail and very scrougy looking. Will shoot that as soon as I can...

Possums can cause severe injury to a dog, shoot it. It will not stop coming back. They just aren't that smart.

 

[Portugueserooster]

I am an expert at raising chickens and i have to say that the weasel is the sneakiest little thief out of them all. Most people here say racoon and dog, but i never had a problem with them. I have dealt with a fox once, a hawk twice, but a weasel killed 35 birds within a 3 month period. Most people say weasels kill everything in one raid, but the one I dealt with killed 5, disapeared, came bak and killed 3 and made a nest in the insulation inside the wall of my coop. Then I shot it once and it crwled back in the coop and i guess died in the wall. then a month later, I found 3 birds dead in my coops run. then I saw its footprints in the snow. In upstate NY, weasels are rare, and I lived nowhere near water. I set traps and still awate him to this day. I still see his footprints in snow and I have my birds secured 24/7.

 

[Nic&Chickies]

Before tonight, I'd have said opossums were the bad guys, after I found one in my coop, in a nest box, a few weeks ago. But after tonight's attack, I have to say dog. I no longer have chickens!

 

[happycountryhens]

I say ermine because one just killed 5 out of six of my hens. It killed one Friday night, one Saturday night and one Sunday morining. I not only thought my coop was vermin proof, but had reinforced every hole I saw on Saturday night in the raided coop and then moved the living hen to the coop with the wood floor where my 3 older hens are and put up more wire in that coop on Sunday night (I have 2 coops as 3 hens were new on christmas and I had not introduced them yet to the other 3). I went to the coop and found the ermine still in the coop. I use a med dog crate and a ferret wire cage as nest boxes. The christmas hen was in the ferret cage closed in (the older hens were picking on her) and I threw the older hens into the airline approved new med dog crate. I ran up to the house to get the gun and when I got back the ermine had gotten into the dog crate and killed the older hens. I shot him. No more chicken for that ermine. I now have one lonely hen left.

I locked her back in the ferret cage tonight. Hope no more ermine.

 

[MamacatPatch]

Quote:
We lost more chickens and ducks and almost lost the roos to an big OWL! When hubby tried to save the roo, the OWL attacked him and he had to kill it. Other than the owls, we've lost chickens and ducks to racoons, even tho we have spotted coyotes and opossum.