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fisherlady said:
How horrible!:hugs I know how much you loved those fluff balls, even the ones who looked like qtips ;) !
I hope you are able to resecure everyone, catch and eliminate the culprit and rebuild for next year. :fl
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I really do love my fluff balls lol. Thankfully, I have about 6 young grow outs in the brooder still. I had actually tried to put them out with the flock the other day but they were just a little too small still.... I've never been so relieved to have chicks still in the brooder! I also have about 24 pure eggs in the bathroom. I haven't hatched any chicken eggs in a couple months because of the whole Covid thing, I didn't want to be overrun with babies. But I had someone contact me looking for naked necks, just after a swap where I had collected and taken pure eggs to sell. At first they were just going to buy eggs from me but then just asked if I'd hatch some. By next spring, I should have a booming silkie population again. The 3 girls that survived, I'm so thankful that of all of them, it was these 3. The black one is from my original line. The splash was the most correct one in there with the best type and crest that I had gotten last fall. I got her young in hopes of her being a cockerel from a totally unrelated line. She's a she of course but will produce excellent offspring. The show girl on the right is also unrelated so a have a decent gene pool to work with.

Yesterday after work, I stopped by tractor supply and picked up another trap. One of the ladies that I lost yesterday has the honor of seeking revenge as she is the bait in the trap. Our main coop has been locked down tight. The only ones who could be at risk are the two geese who sleep in the run but it would be a disaster to put them up in the coop with the flock.
 
I don't know what I'm dealing with but it did come back last night. It managed to get the bait bird out of the trap and completely eaten.... only her hen saddle was left in the trap and the trap was moved about 30 feet. Any ideas? Picking up game cams and solar lights today.
 
OneMountainAcres said:
I don't know what I'm dealing with but it did come back last night. It managed to get the bait bird out of the trap and completely eaten.... only her hen saddle was left in the trap and the trap was moved about 30 feet. Any ideas? Picking up game cams and solar lights today.
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Woah, that’s scary actually.

@dheltzel, thank you very much, but I’ll have to get some locally. Dad said it’s just too far to drive. Thank you so much though.🥰
 
OneMountainAcres said:
My silkie pen was totally annihilated last night... I'm thinking maybe a fisher. There was a small hole dug under the edge of the kennel, most bodies were destroyed and eaten and several just had the heads removed. These 3 ladies were the only survivors. I'm so thankful that any survived! They will be spending the night in a vacant brooder for now.

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That's horrible! Hope you can get that critter and pay him back. The splash girl looks really beautiful. I also find there might be a raccoon getting into my run. He opened the mealworm jar, and threw it on the ground. I couldn't find where he got in though. I have 2~3 ft hardware cloth laying on the ground around the whole run, and no soil was digged under it. I have about 3" gap under my gate, can a raccoon get in that way?
 
OneMountainAcres said:
I don't know what I'm dealing with but it did come back last night. It managed to get the bait bird out of the trap and completely eaten.... only her hen saddle was left in the trap and the trap was moved about 30 feet. Any ideas? Picking up game cams and solar lights today.
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Bobcat or large raccoon, both have the dexterity with their front legs to reach into and around things, they also have the height and strength to move traps a good distance.
 
fisherlady said:
Are there any gaps around the top line of the run or coop?
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No, I have hardware cloth (bottom 3') and 2"x4" welded fence ( higher sections and top) covered the entire run. I used 9-gauge (not small 18 gauge ones) stamples to hold the wires. I checked the entire run. There is no damage to the wires. I really have a hard time to figure out where the raccon got in. 3" gap seems too small for a coon. I just added a 2x4 cross the bottom of the gate. Hopefully, that will stop him. I also remove all the food at evening. I used to leave strawberries, corn on the cob, and meat etc. as treats for them. I was suprised that they wouldn't touch them and then everything was gone the next morning. Now I know why. So that means my chicken wouldn't eat anything other than chicken feed and mealworms. :barnie
 

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