Official BYC Poll: The Worst Predator

[BirdMan32]

Crows should have been on the list. I have a pair stalking my chickens & one morning when I was in the run (a simple bird net over the top), one swooped down VERY low & the rooster sounded the alarm.

 

[202roosterlane]

X2 but I started off with a coop covered top to bottom where I dug a trench and filled with concrete. So far no dead chickens. But you and I both know they will find a way!

Knock on wood we haven't lost any to predators.

 

[naturalfeddogs]

Where we live would be hawks or coyotes either one.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Personally, mine have been lost to the resident bobcat, but from reading others' posts, I would have to say dogs.

I know what you mean about bobcats! It will come any time of the day! At least cats do a quick bite behind the neck where the jugular vein is and it's a quick death. But man dogs and other dog species are the worst. They make the animals suffer

oh and the CCL's that own them!

 

[CMV]

Aha! The switch to the new platform has apparently reopened voting on this poll. Interesting.... I may need to think on this one for a while. My instinct is to vote the same way I did when this poll first opened (hawks), but I am realizing that over the years I have lost more birds overall to other predators (coyotes). The coyote kills were somehow less traumatic than the hawk kills because the coyote kills just vanished, whereas the hawk kills were left for me to find. The coyote kills were quick, but the hawk kills were often drawn out fights, clearly illustrated by the trails of feathers strewn about. So which is worse? In both groups the end result was the same...dead birds. So, which predator would I consider the worst? Good question.

I will need to think on this.

Glad to see your poll has reopened, Opa. It'll interesting to see what numbers show up this time. I believe the numbers before the switch had raccoons coming in first, followed by coyotes, dogs, and hawks. I wonder if this time the numbers will be the same.

 

[hickchick55]

Thankfully, I have not lost anyone yet, but have come the closest to dogs.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

I've lost my 2 chickens to a bobcat who is not afraid of me. Makes you mad when a predator is not afraid of you

 

[alessano1]

haha

 

[write2caroline]

Unfortunately, my biggest losses were to the misguided miscreant youths on the corner who have sicked thier dogs on my chickens on my property when i was at work, or shooting them with bb guns, slingshots and even though we have video that is pretty good the sherrif says that it isnt clear enough to charge them. Last may I had 56 chickens and now I have 20...all of my favorites are gone. All my bantams are gone.....I used to love it when I drove up and the girls would jump out of the run and meet me at my car door begging for treats. Now I hardly have any interaction with the chickens other than feeding, watering and cleaning. my heart is broken and no matter what I do I cannot stop these jerks from hurting my animals or get the sherrif to react or animal control. I pray that these jerks will move away soon. It is rumored that they will have to soon leave their home due to mold and the home being condemed. I hope that they will relocate far away and leave us in peace. They harass my sweet next door neighbors flock too. She is goodness personified and it is so hard to see her saddened by similar actions, I also understand that these same misfits harass the neighbors whose homes face the other street but the back of their property is on our street. Never have I lived anywhere where mulitiple neighbors are calling the sherrif and animal control often where NOTHING changes. Seems the perps have all the rights and the victims have to sit and be patient. I figure it won't be long till they really mess up and end up in jail but i am hesitant even to want to get another chicken. I was thinking about starting a better flock but I really don't want to invest money until I can protect them from people. Seems I cannot build a 9 foot privacy wall with laser guns and forcefields........till then counting on kharma to do her thing.


caroline

 

[Snozzle]

Dog! I haven't lost any chickens yet, but this past year stray dogs killed several of my rabbits and one of my huge Muscovys I used to have. Destroyed 2 of my hutches and left a lot of damages, not to mention that I lost a days work, waiting on animal control to show up. Same happened to my friend, most of her netherland dwarf herd got wiped out by a stray shepherd. I have 2 dogs myself, but they would never think about harming any of the little creatures around and they stay in the house. I wish they would enforce it around here more that people keep their pets up. There are skunks and possums I have seen at night, but they are more interested in the trashcans then the chickens. There are all kinds of stray cats too, but they got flogged by the ducks so many times, they are afraid to touch the chickens, but they still spray my car and feed bin and keep having litters of kittens in our lumber pile. Nothing like the smell of cat pee first thing in the morning.