Predator took all 5 hens last night! I feel horrible!

[atechieboss]

Hi Everyone, thank you to everyone at this forum as you have all been so helpful! Every night I have a routine which includes checking on my 5 hens and closing their hutch door. I have done this for 5 years. Last night I am assuming I forgot as I noted the main door open this AM. All of my chickens are gone. There are no bodies, bones, etc. - just piles of feathers. I live in town with 2 sides of 8 foot fence and 2 sides of 4 foot fence. Hawks have been my daytime issues in the past as I lost one of my birds two years ago to a hawk in the daylight. I feel horribly guilty. Does anyone know what predator, in a southeastern PA town would just leave feathers overnight, be able to kill 5 birds, and leave nothing more? There are no gaps in the fence bottom and I have 3 dogs who use my yard to run and play....thank you for any information. I truly appreciate it!

Foxes for sure. They always haul off their prey. Night owls or possibly coyotes. I'm sorry for your loss.

Before I got Pierre, my Great Pyrenees, I suffered such losses, day and night. Now, none. He caught a fox in the daytime, 10 feet from the coop.

 

[Sandi62dixie]

Sorry you had this happen! It's crazy just how opportunistic these predators are! It's like they just lurk around waiting on us to mess up. First night my ducks were in their new pen an owl killed one, I didn't have the top on it yet! This is a reminder that I need to start closing up mines pop door as soon as they call it a day instead of waiting later.

Hi Everyone, thank you to everyone at this forum as you have all been so helpful! Every night I have a routine which includes checking on my 5 hens and closing their hutch door. I have done this for 5 years. Last night I am assuming I forgot as I noted the main door open this AM. All of my chickens are gone. There are no bodies, bones, etc. - just piles of feathers. I live in town with 2 sides of 8 foot fence and 2 sides of 4 foot fence. Hawks have been my daytime issues in the past as I lost one of my birds two years ago to a hawk in the daylight. I feel horribly guilty. Does anyone know what predator, in a southeastern PA town would just leave feathers overnight, be able to kill 5 birds, and leave nothing more? There are no gaps in the fence bottom and I have 3 dogs who use my yard to run and play....thank you for any information. I truly appreciate it!

So sorry for you are going through this. My hens are not just birds to me either. My son built my coop for me and did something I would have never thought of. He put a spring on the inside that holds the door shut. Kind of like a door closer on a house. I have a special rock that I have to move to close the door. It has a latch also but, this spring holds the door shut pretty good. He also made the door in a way that there is no edges that a animal can get ahold of to pull the door open. I know that this doesn't help if I don't move the rock but, it is just another safety precaution that I believe helps. This makes me have a extra step in saying good night to my birds. I hope that this may help someone. Again I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[jcoz]

Sorry for your loss. Looks like some sort of canine incursion to me also. A fox teaching her kits to hunt, coyotes... Domestic dogs generally kill for sport and leave behind their victims. I've had problems with raccoons (which also leave behind victims). I killed 16 of them in 2018, 8 in 2019, and haven't seen any yet this year. I believe i dented their population a bit. Cute but nasty, disgusting creatures. They are prime carriers for distemper in this area.

 

[ChickGirl007]

If you live in America your possible answer is Coyotes or foxes. If you don’t then I don’t really know. But check out this website, Identifying 14 Common Chicken Predators. On the morning chores website. I can only help you with this and I’m really sorry for your loss

 

[Lazy Layers]

Like every one has said, don't beat yourself up over this. Life happens, dinner out, evening meetings, forgetfullness. I've lost birds because I forgot to close their door, too. The important this is to learn from their deaths. Ask yourself, What can you do that will help you remember? Get an automatic door? Turn a night light on? Think of something that help you learn from this experience. Get some more birds and enjoy them.

The new challence is that what ever took your birds now knows where an easy meal lives and will be back. Predadors eat every day and may even have babies to feed. You'll need to double up on your care and security. Learn from this, take precautions and move on.

 

[Georgiacanfield]

I once had a standoff with a fox in broad daylight, after it had killed one of my hens. We have farm fence which the fox could get through but it couldn’t pull the hen through or carry it over. As I approached the hen, the fox would retreat to the other side of the fence. When I backed away, the fox would come back through the fence toward the dead hen. This went on for a while until I gave up and took the poor hen away. Our hens don’t get to free range anymore (the foxes live on the property next to us and raid our compost pile). The hens have a large yard attached to the pen now. We have also lost most of our small flock in a single night to a raccoon when we left the door only partly latched. I know how you feel.

 

[Foxinthehenhouse]

I’m so sorry for your loss! It could happen to any of us.
I’m getting a little forgetful or easily distracted so to remedy the situation I bought a Chicken Guard automatic door opener. I bought it from Amazon and I got the one with the door. It’s battery run and I’ve had it now for eight months and I don’t know what I’d do without it! I go out of town and don’t have to worry about the chickens!
Good luck!

 

[SarahSmalls]

Hi Everyone, thank you to everyone at this forum as you have all been so helpful! Every night I have a routine which includes checking on my 5 hens and closing their hutch door. I have done this for 5 years. Last night I am assuming I forgot as I noted the main door open this AM. All of my chickens are gone. There are no bodies, bones, etc. - just piles of feathers. I live in town with 2 sides of 8 foot fence and 2 sides of 4 foot fence. Hawks have been my daytime issues in the past as I lost one of my birds two years ago to a hawk in the daylight. I feel horribly guilty. Does anyone know what predator, in a southeastern PA town would just leave feathers overnight, be able to kill 5 birds, and leave nothing more? There are no gaps in the fence bottom and I have 3 dogs who use my yard to run and play....thank you for any information. I truly appreciate it!

I feel so sorry for you! As everyone else said, please don’t dwell on it. We’ve all made mistakes, and sometimes we get away with it and sometimes we don’t. I’ve had a gang of raccoons try to take off with about 7 chickens at once, they tend to be very good a climbing, quiet and may leave feathers, or nothing! Look after yourself!

 

[jodiefoster]

Thank you all for the advice and input. No tracks and no bones or bodies, the ground was frozen last night, just clumps of feathers around the yard. My neighbors nor I heard nothing. Would a fox climb a fence and be able to take the dead chickens over? Do you guys presume that whatever killed each chicken, pulled each one out and ate them there or killed them and took them away? I am just wondering if they suffered as we heard no yelling and there are nothing but feathers left....and how a predator got all 5 at once....I am still in shock....

This does seem suspect to me. Yes a fox can get over a 4 foot fence but to have many fox together that take the hens without noise or feathers everywhere I do not believe. An owl will only take one bird, so again for all 5 to be gone is questionable. Is it possible there is a hungry neighbor? I am very sorry for your loss, these are very hard times for wildlife and people alike. For future chickens, there are movement alarms that you can get and set up in or outside coops, they will signal a phone or an indoor monitor. They are inexpensive and will definitely alert you to a future problem.

 

[JLS]

I am so sorry for your loss
I got a Pullet Shut automatic chicken door years ago for my coop. It was the single best decision I have ever made for my hens, not only for their safety but also for my convenience and peace of mind.