Last night at midnight I went outside because my chickens were riled up and the dogs were going crazy. After about an hour of walking around doing head count after head count and shining the light every which way I could, I saw nothing and decided to go back inside. My mother got up at four to head to work, and went out to do her morning head count while waiting on her ride to swing by. She didn't account for chicks, and saw no one missing [which in reality none of the adults were.]
When I checked on my caged birds around ten after doing my egg collections and such, I realized my Mama with six was out of her pen and none of her chicks were responding to her frantic calling. On my search to find the missing six, I found something very strange. I think it was a gizzard. It was pink on the outside, with a blue tint that faded to white in the middle and very hard. I know I've seen it before when plucking chickens so it's a body part of some sort. A couple steps ahead and under a tree I found a wing, and the neck-up of one of my young game stags. When I picked up his head and placed it in the collection pile, I found one of the missing chicks that I originially set out for. Its head had been pecked at, aside from freezing I think the little guy would have lived there was no blood or splattering of any kind.
So, it struc between 1 A.M. and 4:30 A.M.
It ate FIVE week old game chicks.
It left no blood trail.
The mama hen is fairly unharmed except for some feathers missing on her wing.
It ate ONE two month old game stag, which weighed about a pound.
-- From the game stag it left ONE wing, ONE foot [from the ankle down], a gizzard? attatched to the esophogus, and the NECK UP.
There was NO sign of a struggle, no blood and no feathers. Everything I found was within five feet of a tree that I've seen a hawk at numerous times...
Suspects:
Small white barn owl that I have seen catching mice at night [chicks look like mice maybe?]
Four foot tall, rather angry hawk that I chased off with the rake yesterday [could have struck between moms count and mine]
Dog? [Would have left feathers everywhere and not EATEN the bird]
Raccoon [ Wouldn't have got through Trixie, who sleeps next to the coop and gets up every hour to run the property line while barking ]
Snake? [ Wouldn't have left body parts and would have been found in the pen gorged and unable to fit back out]
There is no damage to the pen at all. Just five missing chicks, and two dead chicks.
Update Update Update! May 16
I caught this little guy in the trap from the neighbors. He was just a youngster, very wiley and very aggressive. I believe he was only one of many, as there was also signs of another predator in the other trap. It ate everything in it, and managed not to set the trap off. So I'm going to have to figure out how to make it more 'trigger friendly' and trip easier.
Friday night they got two more cockerals out of the bad boys bin.
Saturday morning they got Derby, my crippled rooster. They scalped him, and broke his skull open exposing brain tissue. When I found him hiding under the house he was still alive, and had to be put down. RIP Derby, you will be missed.
When I checked on my caged birds around ten after doing my egg collections and such, I realized my Mama with six was out of her pen and none of her chicks were responding to her frantic calling. On my search to find the missing six, I found something very strange. I think it was a gizzard. It was pink on the outside, with a blue tint that faded to white in the middle and very hard. I know I've seen it before when plucking chickens so it's a body part of some sort. A couple steps ahead and under a tree I found a wing, and the neck-up of one of my young game stags. When I picked up his head and placed it in the collection pile, I found one of the missing chicks that I originially set out for. Its head had been pecked at, aside from freezing I think the little guy would have lived there was no blood or splattering of any kind.
So, it struc between 1 A.M. and 4:30 A.M.
It ate FIVE week old game chicks.
It left no blood trail.
The mama hen is fairly unharmed except for some feathers missing on her wing.
It ate ONE two month old game stag, which weighed about a pound.
-- From the game stag it left ONE wing, ONE foot [from the ankle down], a gizzard? attatched to the esophogus, and the NECK UP.
There was NO sign of a struggle, no blood and no feathers. Everything I found was within five feet of a tree that I've seen a hawk at numerous times...
Suspects:
Small white barn owl that I have seen catching mice at night [chicks look like mice maybe?]
Four foot tall, rather angry hawk that I chased off with the rake yesterday [could have struck between moms count and mine]
Dog? [Would have left feathers everywhere and not EATEN the bird]
Raccoon [ Wouldn't have got through Trixie, who sleeps next to the coop and gets up every hour to run the property line while barking ]
Snake? [ Wouldn't have left body parts and would have been found in the pen gorged and unable to fit back out]
There is no damage to the pen at all. Just five missing chicks, and two dead chicks.
Update Update Update! May 16
I caught this little guy in the trap from the neighbors. He was just a youngster, very wiley and very aggressive. I believe he was only one of many, as there was also signs of another predator in the other trap. It ate everything in it, and managed not to set the trap off. So I'm going to have to figure out how to make it more 'trigger friendly' and trip easier.
Friday night they got two more cockerals out of the bad boys bin.
Saturday morning they got Derby, my crippled rooster. They scalped him, and broke his skull open exposing brain tissue. When I found him hiding under the house he was still alive, and had to be put down. RIP Derby, you will be missed.
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