Poultry Predator Identification

[BEAKMAN42]

Very good and interesting reading. sorry about your loss

 

[RubberDuck]

Wow!!!

That's an amazing post!

How long did it take to write?!?!?!
Thanks for posting it! It's been really useful!

 

[Portugueserooster]

Hi I am asking if anybody knows a chicken predator, who get in through 1x4 fencing and kills every chicken within a week and eats them completely and leaves bones and feathers only. I went on a bussiness trip and I left alot of food and water for my birds for a weekn, which they are used to and when I came back, there were only bones and feathers of 30 chickens, 20 pigeons, 5 guineas and a rabbit. My rabbit had no fur left, just gone completely, i just saw his skull with some meat on it. It cant be a raccoon, some people say it was something in the weasel family. Ths happened in late August. there were evn some feathers and bones outside the coops and dead pigeons on the coop roof. I had a hole that is 3x3 wide at the top of my coop for my pigeons to leave and the predator might have gotten in through there to. Can somebody tell me who or what did this, please? Here are some links to the fence I have http://www.tractorsupply.com/fencing/field-fencing/horse-fence-72-in-x-100-ft--3610723.

 

[farmdude]

All my ducks were killed and just left a few nights ago. My first thought was dogs. It was a fridget night -15 not counting the wind chill. So the donkeys were in the barn and not on guard duty. The tracks in the snow looked like coyote. But why would coyotes leave the bodies behind. The snow drifts are high and the predators jumped the fence in and out. I've never seen a stray dog around and am not aware of the neigbors having any. If they did I doubt they would let them out in the wee hours when it was that cold. Any thoughts?

 

[ydalhsif]

i have found 3 my chickens dead with no head or neck for the last 3 nights.we have eletric fence all around so after reading this i am assumming it is an owl.what do you think? we thought it might have been a coon or possom but dont know how they could get in unless they can jump the fence. some of the electric fence is not more than 1 foot off the ground. there are 3 strands about 4 inches apart. i am going to put up some more strands. also thought i might buy the predator light that flickers red or a motion light. any thoughts on this.

 

[Earthologie]

My stomach hurts from reading this... Poor chickens.

 

[nelliebean]

My gawd! I may dress my chickens in armor after reading these depressing posts.

 

[flowergirl60]

I'm with you nelliebean....bring out the armor. BTW the article was great.

 

[Chinook203]

I am reading through all of these as I was thinking......wow, I can definitely add to this.
We have a rare type of possum here that are so stinking smart. I've lost over 30 birds in our enclosed pins......... The possums work it until they find an opening. Raccoons have been responsible for 4 kills. I've had a lot question us on it. One........the game camera catches most of it and two, by the 2nd nights kill, we have been able to hear the chickens screaming and get them. The possums go in, if there isn't any eggs or birds on the ground, they go up and find them. they typcially start eating on top of the bird, top of head, then they eat the backs out. if we leave the carcass in there, they come back the next night to clean it up.

Racoons, they take the head off, then breast it out. They come back for the rest as well. If its a small chicken, they try to take it out. Both the raccoon kills were from a hole in the center of the pen where the roof covering (basically bird mesh) has slipped away from the tree. We now have metal over the lower 3 foot, so when they come down, they can't get back out.

A possum is like a rat, if its head can fit through the hole, the rest of the body can to. It took me a week to catch one possum and to figure out where he was coming in and out at. He had worked a corner of the pen at the top open just enough to get that head through. The possums do eat them right there.

 

[NinasHideawayFarm]

Thanks for the info