Pile of Feathers

[EmmyKnuth11]

Today I went out to my coop to feed my four Banty's and discovered that there were only three in the cage in our shed with a door (We keep them in a smaller cage at night because we have had Weasels before and this one doesn't have big enough of openings to allow one to get through). Upon further inspection I found a pile of feathers with no body parts, no blood, there was no noise, just feathers.

As I said before we have had predators such as
-Raccoons
-Weasels

and these were messy kills as in body parts strewn or in piles and blood everywhere. Personally I am starting to get annoyed as we have taken every safety precaution and set poisons for the predators and we get a new predator every time. They have killed off over 20-25 birds in the past 2 years and we are loosing money from fairs and shows. I just would like to know what it is that we have now and methods of trapping and killing them. Thank you

 

[sunflour]

So sorry about your losses. If you could post a pic of your coop and cages that might help.

Some weasels are quite small and raccoons can rip thru chicken wire and open latches. Make sure you are using hardware cloth 1/4-1/2 inch on all openings to the coop and run.

 

[EmmyKnuth11]

You see we are using a big (thick wired, spaces are about 1/2 inch wide all around) rabbit cage that I cant even bend and all the latches were secured, So thats why Im so confused

 

[Michael OShay]

You see we are using a big (thick wired, spaces are about 1/2 inch wide all around) rabbit cage that I cant even bend and all the latches were secured, So thats why Im so confused

Can you post a pic of your coop and the wire you are using so we can take a look at them. Also, make sure there are gaps anywhere in the coop (under the eaves, etc.). Could a predator have dug into the coop. Do you have hardware cloth or some kind of small mesh wire lining the bottom of your coop? Coops/runs need to be built like Fort Knox when there are problem predators in the area. There is a good article at http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/07/11-tips-for-predator-proofing-chickens.html on protecting your chickens from predators.

 

[EmmyKnuth11]

This is the cage for night time (Since then we have added a roosting bar) but I inspected it but didn't see any gaps bigger then normal and might I add the 3 others were unharmed only slightly shaken

 

[drumstick diva]

It would be good to see coop and run, as Michael says so we can spot any problem areas.

Are you allowed to have electrical fencing around your coop and runs? What is the base of your coop, stone, dirt, wood etc. Concrete would be best but, that is late now. are :your ventilation areas in coop backed by strong hardware cloth.? Please consider A few game cams around the area to show you what is happening and where. If this generally happens at night - get some motion activated lights - some are combined with a loud alarm.

Do you have solid run covers to keep out climbers, jumpers (from trees or buildings) and aerial attacks? Finding feathers and no body makes me think raptors. But, other preds may do the same.

If the distance isn't large, you may want a baby monitor in the coop so you can pick up sounds of any attack as it starts. Do you have dogs that could patrol the area? If it is small predators, it would be great to have their dog run encircle the chicken run and coop. Jack Russells might be perfect for that.

Photograph kills - there may be hunters/trappers in your area who would recognize the M.O. and be eager to trap them. I realize all upgrades will cost a lot but, probably not as much as the many birds, etc. that have been killed.

 

[Michael OShay]

This is the cage for night time (Since then we have added a roosting bar) but I inspected it but didn't see any gaps bigger then normal and might I add the 3 others were unharmed only slightly shaken

This cage is far from predator proof. Weasels, snakes, or rats can easily squeeze in through the openings in the wire. And raccoons could easily reach through those openings, grabbing your chickens and tearing them apart. Also, the latches on that cage door would not be much of a challenge for a raccoon to open. Hardware cloth (like in the pic below) is what you need to use. It's too strong for predators to tear through, and the openings in the mesh are too small for any predators to squeeze through.

https://ncpreppers.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/hardware-cloth-at-bottom-of-run.jpg