Only the head left - help!

[Pet-chicks-South-Africa]

Hi all, this morning I woke up to find scattered feathers on the ground and the head of the victim on the other side of the yard.

She was a young black bantam but robust fast and feisty. Her "sister", a silkie is now lonely and scared. It's my only remaining chicken.

The gardner thinks the culprit is a cat. But I can't imagine a cat killing, carrying and eating the whole chicken during the night. It could be a bird of prey - we're in South Africa and there are plenty of those around..

I'm afraid that the predator will come for the silkie.

Now I don't know if I should build a better coop and buy a new chick to keep company to the silkie or just give the silkie away and give up on pet chickens...

My 2 year old baby girl was sad no to see her black bantam around this morning I don't want this to happen again.

So my question is : a better coop would keep them safe at night. But will they be safe in the yard during the day ?

Please help

Thank you

 

[Tacampbell1973]

First off Sorry. It sucks, I know. Happens all the time here. I free range days and lock up at night. I'm in Washington state, out of town by 20 miles. By a Creek. Everything from A to Z comes to drink or to survey my flock for potential meals. I bring my small chicks inside with moms until abouta month old. However you may not have that option. Very strongly recommend getting your baby sat least one pal but preferably more. Chicken not only are social critters but also rely on more than one to take turn watching for predators. I have 2 turkey Tom's who are watchdogs as well as currently 10 Guinea fowl who, by the way, make exceptional yard guards! You being from South Africa are probably familiar with them? I recommend them if you have either super understanding neighbors, deaf neighbors or better yet non at all. I'm sure there I'm have been started over these well meaning loud mouth birds. Have you also a way to get a safe barn? Nothing too huge but secure. I leave a light on at nights in my barns, I have 3 small individual barns and a 18 x 18 outbuilding Which I repurposed into a barn. When my power has gone out due to weather, without fail the predators ravaged the defenseless birds in the dark, one time taking out 14 animals in one night. 10 of which was a mama and 9 little tots. So know you are not alone it has happened to all of us at some point or another and each t will be a learning experience for where your weak points are! Good luck and be safe

 

[Pet-chicks-South-Africa]

Thank you for your thoughtful reply.

Guinea fowls could be a good solution. My yard is a bit small (15x15feet) so not a lot of room for the fowls and I think they need more space.

I definitely need to get a more secure barn with a lock up door. At the moment I'm just afraid that I won't be able to keep them safe during the day (or if I travel and no one is there to lock them up ).

I'll look up some barn designs in the forum ..

First off Sorry. It sucks, I know. Happens all the time here. I free range days and lock up at night. I'm in Washington state, out of town by 20 miles. By a Creek. Everything from A to Z comes to drink or to survey my flock for potential meals. I bring my small chicks inside with moms until abouta month old. However you may not have that option. Very strongly recommend getting your baby sat least one pal but preferably more. Chicken not only are social critters but also rely on more than one to take turn watching for predators. I have 2 turkey Tom's who are watchdogs as well as currently 10 Guinea fowl who, by the way, make exceptional yard guards! You being from South Africa are probably familiar with them? I recommend them if you have either super understanding neighbors, deaf neighbors or better yet non at all. I'm sure there I'm have been started over these well meaning loud mouth birds. Have you also a way to get a safe barn? Nothing too huge but secure. I leave a light on at nights in my barns, I have 3 small individual barns and a 18 x 18 outbuilding Which I repurposed into a barn. When my power has gone out due to weather, without fail the predators ravaged the defenseless birds in the dark, one time taking out 14 animals in one night. 10 of which was a mama and 9 little tots. So know you are not alone it has happened to all of us at some point or another and each t will be a learning experience for where your weak points are! Good luck and be safe

 

[Ted_Harrell]

Fortify your coop first, then add a friend for your silkie, good luck with your predator as they will probably be back. Be ever vigilant.....

 

[Ted_Harrell]

In your case I would say the best replacement for your Silkie is a couple more! Oh wait I am doing it again, enablers we're all the same...

 

[Pet-chicks-South-Africa]

Yes, it's tempting to get more of them.

But again, I don't know what killed it and if I can protect them.

What predator would attackaat night, eat the whole chicken and leave the head?

 

[cmom]

So Sorry for your loss. If you have a game camera , put it up. Most likely the predator will be back since it has made a kill and then you will know what you're dealing with and better how to protect your remaining bird and and future birds. Here most of the predators roam at night. Here it's mostly coyotes. Good luck...

A coyote behind some of the coops.

 

[Pet-chicks-South-Africa]

UPDATE :

I found the rest of the chicken carcasse hanging from a tree in the yard. Waited until this evening and sure enough caught the culprit coming for seconds.

As far as I can tell it's an African genet (a type of mongoose ) . I would upload a photo if I knew how to.

 

[Pet-chicks-South-Africa]

UPDATE :

I found the rest of the chicken carcasse hanging from a tree in the yard. Waited until this evening and sure enough caught the culprit coming for seconds.

As far as I can tell it's an African genet (a type of mongoose ) . I would upload a photo if I knew how to.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Can you make a coop /run combo to keep your chickens safe? With a secure run, you chickens will be safe all day as well as times when you are not home to lock them in. There are alot of ways to build something like this, look in the coops forum.

Now that your predator has had a meal, it will be back looking for more.