Predator Problem, need advice on tracking down the killer

[Clearwater Chicken]

Hi everyone, well today is my birthday and I woke up thinking today would be absolutely wonderful, go out to look at the birds, ducklings with mamma fine and all accounted for, baby chicks are fine but need food. I go to get them food and find my quail pen has a door open(it could have been left open by me accidentally or been opened by the predator) with 10 quail missing(its right by the food). OH CRAP, I start looking around and the first thing I see right by the door 3 dead bodies, I am thinking i have no live quail of the ones that escaped. 1 of the quail is partially eaten and the other 2 are just killed, the bodies are neither cold nor warm. I am heartbroken but then I see 2 of the missing quail alive and hiding, this gives hope. I start searching for the missing quail and find all of them with only one more dead, killed but not touched otherwise and it was about 50 feet from the coop. the only dead one that was eaten had only the left side of the breast eaten everything else was untouched(the head was still there). Any ideas, thoughts, or comments on what I can do to prevent future attacks?

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Hi everyone, well today is my birthday and I woke up thinking today would be absolutely wonderful, go out to look at the birds, ducklings with mamma fine and all accounted for, baby chicks are fine but need food. I go to get them food and find my quail pen has a door open(it could have been left open by me accidentally or been opened by the predator) with 10 quail missing(its right by the food). OH CRAP, I start looking around and the first thing I see right by the door 3 dead bodies, I am thinking i have no live quail of the ones that escaped. 1 of the quail is partially eaten and the other 2 are just killed, the bodies are neither cold nor warm. I am heartbroken but then I see 2 of the missing quail alive and hiding, this gives hope. I start searching for the missing quail and find all of them with only one more dead, killed but not touched otherwise and it was about 50 feet from the coop. the only dead one that was eaten had only the left side of the breast eaten everything else was untouched(the head was still there). Any ideas, thoughts, or comments on what I can do to prevent future attacks?

I think everyone will have their own suggestions. I've been dealing with predators too, recently had my coop ripped apart by a bear so FYI, almost nothing is bear proof. However, using 1/4" hardware cloth that is screwed in using strips of wood over the hardware cloth is most effective against being torn, or small paws reaching through. A locking latch, or a latch with a lock on it is most effective against raccoons, which are very intelligent. Finally, surrounding your area with a simple electric fence will likely deter anything from even getting to your coop in the first place, including bears. You can buy at TSC nearly everything you need for under $150-$200. I bought fiberglass rods so no need for insulators and super easy for my 95 pound self to drive into the drought hardened ground, a 30 mile controller, strong enough for cattle (and theoretically bear), and 17 gauge wire. You will also need 8 or 9 gauge wire and a copper rod for a grounding rod. Copper only needs driven in about 3-4" where an iron rod needs to be much deeper. I was clueless about how to set this system up until someone told me what to buy, and from there it was a cakewalk.

I am so sorry about the loss of your birds. Two days after my bear attack, which didn't kill any chickens, I had a daytime predator kill one of my hens. Likely a coyote. On that same night our neighbor lost 12 hens to the bear and it has since returned to their farm. I can only assume my electric fence is doing the job. You can also buy noise makers which are decent at deterring daytime predators. I wonder if, because the door was open, your problem was a racoon.

Here was the coop after bear attack. My hardware cloth was only screwed in. Nothing to a bear! The boards to the nest box were actually ripped in half.

The bear had less success in the back. It's unbelieve the strength that he had. Ripped a door clear off its hinges!

Here is the repaired coop with the fiberglass poles, and 17 gauge electric wire ran in three layers, but short enough for me to step over carefully. This time I covered the poultry wire with strips of wood and used 3" wood screws. I reinforced the remaining parts and repairs using either 3" or 4" wood screws.

I think you can see the electric fence better from the back. I turn it off during the day. All repairs and fencing were done in a single day. Pictured is my black cochin. Sadly she was the one taken by the daytime predator

I wish you the best of luck, and again I'm so sorry for you and your little birds

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Also, if you have wifi, a simple camera like Wyze can be used to monitor and record HD color video and can be viewed from your phone. If wifi is not available, try a trail cam. I have yet to get one myself but I do wish I could have see what killed my poor Henrietta.

 

[Clearwater Chicken]

I think everyone will have their own suggestions. I've been dealing with predators too, recently had my coop ripped apart by a bear so FYI, almost nothing is bear proof. However, using 1/4" hardware cloth that is screwed in using strips of wood over the hardware cloth is most effective against being torn, or small paws reaching through. A locking latch, or a latch with a lock on it is most effective against raccoons, which are very intelligent. Finally, surrounding your area with a simple electric fence will likely deter anything from even getting to your coop in the first place, including bears. You can buy at TSC nearly everything you need for under $150-$200. I bought fiberglass rods so no need for insulators and super easy for my 95 pound self to drive into the drought hardened ground, a 30 mile controller, strong enough for cattle (and theoretically bear), and 17 gauge wire. You will also need 8 or 9 gauge wire and a copper rod for a grounding rod. Copper only needs driven in about 3-4" where an iron rod needs to be much deeper. I was clueless about how to set this system up until someone told me what to buy, and from there it was a cakewalk.

I am so sorry about the loss of your birds. Two days after my bear attack, which didn't kill any chickens, I had a daytime predator kill one of my hens. Likely a coyote. On that same night our neighbor lost 12 hens to the bear and it has since returned to their farm. I can only assume my electric fence is doing the job. You can also buy noise makers which are decent at deterring daytime predators. I wonder if, because the door was open, your problem was a racoon.

Here was the coop after bear attack. My hardware cloth was only screwed in. Nothing to a bear! The boards to the nest box were actually ripped in half.
View attachment 2250072

The bear had less success in the back. It's unbelieve the strength that he had. Ripped a door clear off its hinges!
View attachment 2250073

Here is the repaired coop with the fiberglass poles, and 17 gauge electric wire ran in three layers, but short enough for me to step over carefully. This time I covered the poultry wire with strips of wood and used 3" wood screws. I reinforced the remaining parts and repairs using either 3" or 4" wood screws.
View attachment 2250074

I think you can see the electric fence better from the back. I turn it off during the day. All repairs and fencing were done in a single day. Pictured is my black cochin. Sadly she was the one taken by the daytime predator

View attachment 2250077

I wish you the best of luck, and again I'm so sorry for you and your little birds

thank you for the advice, my quail pen is made from 1/2 hardwire mesh and i think i might need better latches for i think it could have been a racoon