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

[hayley3]

Everybody forgets to lock their door at one time or another. You must be on a fox path. Foxes tend to take the same path home. It was just bad luck that a predator came by the ONE time you left it unlocked.
I know how devastated you are...I did have 3 chickens left and one was wounded and you are left with none.
You have a couple months to heal before spring.
Did you say you hatched yours or did you get them from the store?

 

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

Hi, I’m really sorry to hear about your hens. Please don’t beat yourself up, it’s truly not your fault. These things happen. I was inside a few years back and at 2 in the afternoon a fox grabbed my ISA brown and started to run for the fence, my amazing Great Dane saves her life that day. But last year I had a very similar scenario, a fox got under the wire on my coop roof and jumped down wiping out my whole flock of 12, it was devastating but unfortunately these things do happen and as heart wrenching as it is we really can’t beat ourselves up over it. Even now I still get teary over my flock of 12 that I lost in one night. I hope you feel better soon and get chickens again as they are truly the most amazing pets.

 

[chloemae]

Everybody forgets to lock their door at one time or another. You must be on a fox path. Foxes tend to take the same path home. It was just bad luck that a predator came by the ONE time you left it unlocked.
I know how devastated you are...I did have 3 chickens left and one was wounded and you are left with none.
You have a couple months to heal before spring.
Did you say you hatched yours or did you get them from the store?

Thank you for the kind words and for sharing. It truly means a lot. I slept poorly last night, I just feel sick with guilt. I know I have to take time and work through that. All were hatched from eggs I had gotten on eBay....these were my 5 girls. The Serama roo had passed away after this pic was taken (which was a summer or two ago)....

 

[chloemae]

Hi, I’m really sorry to hear about your hens. Please don’t beat yourself up, it’s truly not your fault. These things happen. I was inside a few years back and at 2 in the afternoon a fox grabbed my ISA brown and started to run for the fence, my amazing Great Dane saves her life that day. But last year I had a very similar scenario, a fox got under the wire on my coop roof and jumped down wiping out my whole flock of 12, it was devastating but unfortunately these things do happen and as heart wrenching as it is we really can’t beat ourselves up over it. Even now I still get teary over my flock of 12 that I lost in one night. I hope you feel better soon and get chickens again as they are truly the most amazing pets.

I am sorry for your losses as well. Everyone on this site is so supportive and helpful. I am so very grateful for your story as well and for your kind words...it means an awful lot to me ❤

 

[Birdsong 82]

My goodness I am so sorry. Losing them all is heartbreaking
I was leaving for work one morning and I leave sometimes at like 4:30 AM so it was still dark and my cat usually goes outside when I leave for work I heard the chickens making noises but nothing crazy but then I heard my cat banging on their fencing running all around the run. He loves the chickens so of course immediately ran down there. Possum. I got lucky and obviously got there quick enough I unfortunately found one of my girls disemboweled and another one severely injured tried to help her but she was too far gone. All the rest of them were huddled in the corner behind my rooster. I praise the cat so much because if it wasn't for him I would've had a lot more losses on my hands Couldn't figure out how the possum got in then I realized when we expanded their run and put the fence up the day before we believe he must've been already under the coop it actually fenced him in the run and he couldn't leave. Talk about feeling guilt it's like we put the predator in there to where even he couldn't get out Predators are crafty and sometimes we slip up and even when we don't sometimes they still find that way.
We're not all perfect but for five years in only one mistake that's pretty darn close. You're the type of person that should have chickens. Five years of happiness is a lot more than most chickens ever get
I want to say don't beat yourself up to but I know the feeling of guilt and it's hard to just suck that up quickly. Hopefully it will reduce overtime and you can turn it into ambition. Ambition to find out what the predator was put up some electric fencing things of that nature.
Again I can't imagine losing all of them at once it happened to my mother-in-law and she is a hard lady I've never seen her cry but she cried her heart out
I'm so sorry

 

[Birdsong 82]

At first I was leaning towards bobcat. We have some around here not a ton. But when you said you live in town I am leaning more towards coyote. Most people think they don't come in town but where I live people see them in neighborhoods frequently. It's true you may never 100% know and that's the hardest part

 

[Shepshill]

A fox killed two of my chickens. I know it was a fox because I caught sight of the fox carrying one off. I am sure I interrupted a plan to grab all four of them. All that was left of the first kill was a large pile of feathers and one or two smaller piles.

 

[chloemae]

My goodness I am so sorry. Losing them all is heartbreaking
I was leaving for work one morning and I leave sometimes at like 4:30 AM so it was still dark and my cat usually goes outside when I leave for work I heard the chickens making noises but nothing crazy but then I heard my cat banging on their fencing running all around the run. He loves the chickens so of course immediately ran down there. Possum. I got lucky and obviously got there quick enough I unfortunately found one of my girls disemboweled and another one severely injured tried to help her but she was too far gone. All the rest of them were huddled in the corner behind my rooster. I praise the cat so much because if it wasn't for him I would've had a lot more losses on my hands Couldn't figure out how the possum got in then I realized when we expanded their run and put the fence up the day before we believe he must've been already under the coop it actually fenced him in the run and he couldn't leave. Talk about feeling guilt it's like we put the predator in there to where even he couldn't get out Predators are crafty and sometimes we slip up and even when we don't sometimes they still find that way.
We're not all perfect but for five years in only one mistake that's pretty darn close. You're the type of person that should have chickens. Five years of happiness is a lot more than most chickens ever get
I want to say don't beat yourself up to but I know the feeling of guilt and it's hard to just suck that up quickly. Hopefully it will reduce overtime and you can turn it into ambition. Ambition to find out what the predator was put up some electric fencing things of that nature.
Again I can't imagine losing all of them at once it happened to my mother-in-law and she is a hard lady I've never seen her cry but she cried her heart out
I'm so sorry

You are so sweet ❤❤❤❤. Thank you so much, it is so helpful to hear everyone's stories, and how everyone coped. Your kindness means very much right now. Chickens have so many predators. It is so sad. I live in a very populated town, so it amazes me what still seeks to hunt them down (hawks have always been a big issue for me and I have fake owls, pie pans, scarecrows, etc.). I forget about possums, but as you mentioned, they hunt chickens as well. I am hoping time helps me heal. Thank you again for the kind words and encouragement....it truly means alot for me....

 

[chloemae]

A fox killed two of my chickens. I know it was a fox because I caught sight of the fox carrying one off. I am sure I interrupted a plan to grab all four of them. All that was left of the first kill was a large pile of feathers and one or two smaller piles.

I am sorry for your loss as well. That sounds like exactly what happened to me. I cleaned up the piles of feathers last eve and I could tell each bird by each feather pile. There were no bones or organs or blood anywhere. I just pray they died quickly ...

 

[Birdsong 82]

Something popped in my head as I was reading through threads. If you can bring yourself to get chickens again which in my opinion I really think you should. But have you ever thought of maybe adopting rescue hens. It would be giving them a good life again. Do you already have the set up and the heart which are the two main things that those chickens need. Just throwing that out there as a suggestion. And definitely understand healing time being needed