Please Help

[Debbie4140]

Hi and I hope u all are well I have a problem last night we were woke up by our baby chickens which are about 6 months old give or take anyway our chickens were raising cane my we have a baby moniter out in our barn its been there for over a year now and it comes in handy anyway we went out to the barn and two of our 6 month old chickens were gone a few feathers but no birds what can this be that got two of them please let me know what it might be May God Bless You all. PS the reason Im so upset is that we raised them from our incubator and well i got attached.

 

[silkiechicken]

Just feathers, night time, bodies taken..


I say a coon did it.

 

[DementedHam]

Hello......the name is Ham. Really depends on where you live. Could be a fox, a skunk, or some other creature.

 

[BeckyLa]

I'm sorry you lost your birds. It would help to know your setup, such as were they locked in a solid coop or roosting in barn rafters? Did the preditor go through or dig under wire to get to them? Are you in town or in the country or in the woods? More info will help us determine who your preditor is.

 

[Debbie4140]

Hi again I live in Alabama and I have about an Acre fenced in with dog wire and there were 7 Chickens and it took the two and the barn is small and I have it divided into areas two stalls an area for the bigger chickens and an area for the very little chicks where the chicks are we have very thick wire all the way up to the top all the way around and for the bigger chickens I have regular chicken wire all the way around it and I have doorways for each of those areas with the thicker wire and where I had the 7 Chickens was in a stall area where I have the thick wire all the way around it execpt for it only went to the top Im 5.6 so its close to that tall all the way around and there is a stall next to this one where I have chicken wire all the way around it to the top and in between this is a wall and a small hall going out to the back area of the barn and I have two Big Roosters out near the hall and they have a roost coming across the hall area I seperated them from my hens they were there last night I have the whole barn and 1/2 of an acre fenced in and out from the second stall I have dog wire going across two divide the bigger area from the back of the barn right at the corner of the second stall where it connects to the fence I found tiny feathers under the wire there and thats it no blood or nothing now I keep my feed and lawn mower in my barn and where the hall is there is a wall between it where the feed is and my mower I found somewhat small footprints but it looked more like claws then the pad of the foot I hope this will help out thanks for all the info so far Bye for now Debbie

 

[DuckLady]

Wow, that is one looong sentence.

From what I could make out, I would say raccoon or coyote.

 

[jessupfamily]

RACCOON!! (Very typical.)
Amy J.

 

[Debbie4140]

Hi again u all were right it was a racoon we have caught it thanks for all your info can someone tell me how I can add my pictures bye for now Debbie

 

[mixedrun]

Debbie, catching one racoon will not solve your problem. There are billions more where that ornery pest came from. When the youngsters start weening mama coons have a desperate time finding adequate food for the family. This is when they are most likely to start raiding coops. In my part of the world (Illinois) this starts around late May. An electric 'hot' wire is the most effective and inexpensive method I know for keeping the critters out.