Poultry Predator Identification

[ParadiseFoundFarm]

BYC, OP,
"Article no longer available."
Please refresh this link so those of us who want it can see the entire article. This is so very informative we need to see it.

 

[Chickenfur]

what do you do if you only find feathers? that has happend a cuple of times to me, and it's really anoying!

 

[dlebauer]

Gail's link doesn't currently work, but it can be found on the wayback machine's internet archive:

http://web.archive.org/web/20080306...poultrymag.com/issues/2/2-4/Gail_Damerow.html

 

[ParadiseFoundFarm]

Quote:
Still no pictures - I'd gladly but the book if I could - can we get this link updated BYC? Please?

 

[jfranklin]

Thanks for all the information....that was great! We lost six chickens in one night and then four the next night....we have two different houses and it seems like the wire was pulled away at the top and the predator got thru....the heads and throat we bitten....nothing was eaten or taken away. I know there are racoons here in Port Angeles...and their could be warf rats....what do you think it was.

 

[Carrie Lynn]

jfranklin,
May I ask how you had secured your wire?
I'm building a run and am now worrried staples won't be strong enough.

Thanks, and sorry for your losses.

 

[xrings]

Something is pulling the feathers off all my chickens while they are in the coop only at night. I have chicken wire around the coop and a 2' high electrictrified fence. I also have motion sensitive lights that click on to scare off the raccoons. Could this be rats? Anyone have any ideas?

 

[07chickens]

Hello,
I found just feathers from my banty rooster outside the pen the morning after my husband about dark was locking the chickens in and the guinnea was making a racket and was outside the pen. While he was trying to herd it in the gate, it flew back to the top and went in. Nothing was amiss. Could he had flew out too for some reason. Or did a hawk carry him out and worked him over a bit leaving feathers before taking off with him?
Thank you.
V H

 

[freezefamilyfarm]

I tried to go to the more recent link but my school server wouldn't let me. By what I have read so far I'm thinking raccoon, but let me know what ya'll think.

We lost our first chicken to a predator this weekend (Sat night). It was one of our RIR 9 week old roos. He was in our aframe with his 4 bros, a few hens plus 2 older (just started crowing) Black Australorp Roos and our bantam. We found him in the middle of the coop with this head almost completely torn off, through the bone and everything. His esophagus ( I think or something like that) was still attached. He was not bitten or torn at anywhere else. We came to the conclusion that there is no way another bird did this. Anyway he has been with them for 3 weeks and he's not big enough to threaten the roosters so I'm sure they are not guilty and fairly sure they could not have done this kind of damage if they tried. We are thinking maybe a possum or skunk got in under the aframe and got him while the others are sleeping, but do they normally just kill and run? He wasn't even near the edge like they tried to get him out and we found no place anything had dug under. Very strange. Very sad. We tarped the aframe last night and put hay bales around the edges, plus Luke sat in the truck "on the hunt" until about 11, but never saw anything. We know we have a possum and a raccoon. Our cat had an alibi, she had snuck in the house and slept with my son, so she's off the list. She does fine with them when they are out anyway. So any ideas on the culprit? Our traps from atwood's have done no good, but I think my cousin has some for us to try.

 

[vtchickenlvr]

I'm losing birds in the daytime ( between 9:30-2:00 or so ) All of my birds are free rangers. Last week I found one of my Rhode Island reds in the front yard with damage to her head, torn off pretty much actually. The rest of the girls were hiding, I had to get my dogs to help me find them. Even as darkness was descending, they were hesitant to come back to the coop. Today, one of my sizable peking(?- big white ) geese was laying dead and mutilated in the backyard, chest ripped open. These are heavy birds and tough- in the past only bobcats have been able to get to them. My chickens were safely in their coop because of the weather. I'm thinking dog or fisher? Also, last week my daughter saw what she called a "beaver, badger, weasel thing - brown- "jump into the stream culvert inthe front yard. So, whatever it was, it doesn't mind the water!