Pure Massacre

[leah vanity]

I've had free range chickens for over a year now and we all know the consequences that come with giving the girls free range. We've lost some to fox, hawks, falcons and also saved quite a few as well!

Tuesday was unprecedented. We were home and didn't even hear the horror going on outside in the afternoon (3:30-5). We had 22 girls and we lost 12 in the span of a few hours. 12. 12!

We found 1 dead body, 6 piles of feathers, and a falcon flew off one of our girls as we came outside but she didn't make it 24 hrs. One of our breeds (Buffs) was completely wiped out. We think some may have bolted out of fear and that they might return. Of those 22, 5 were adult hens and the rest 2 month old chicks. We are beside ourselves. We think it was a fox teaching it's young and also, a bird attack.

It's never easy when you lose hens/roosters but this was devastating. Just wanted to share for you all to give your fluff butts extra love today because you never know when an attack will happen!

 

[sourland]

Sadly when we free range there will be losses. Foxes/coyotes/bobcats and their young are hunting together this time of year as parents teach the kids.

 

[Theorrin]

foxes dont normally hunt during the day. not saying it wasnt but could have been cats/dogs as well. if you have black breed birds those tend to discourage hawks as the black chickens resemble crows and crows and hawks dont like each other.

 

[leah vanity]

Sadly when we free range there will be losses. Foxes/coyotes/bobcats and their young are hunting together this time of year as parents teach the kids.

Yeah we think that's exactly what happened. So stinking sad. We all have a favorite and sadly, my girl was one of the victims. RIP Peggy!!

 

[leah vanity]

foxes dont normally hunt during the day. not saying it wasnt but could have been cats/dogs as well. if you have black breed birds those tend to discourage hawks as the black chickens resemble crows and crows and hawks dont like each other.

Foxes will hunt if they have a new litter, if they are hungry enough or if they are teaching their young.

 

[Theorrin]

Foxes will hunt if they have a new litter, if they are hungry enough or if they are teaching their young.

thats why i stated "normally"

 

[TwoShepherds]

So sorry for your losses.

 

[NanaK]

I know this was very upsetting.
I am so sorry for you loss.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Sorry to hear about such a tragic loss. Hugs go out to all, including the remaining chickens.

 

[Member 671655]

We definitely lock up our flocks at night but we free range during the day. Middle of the city here but we’ve had possums and raccoons as well as a few bird fly overs . None have attacked except if our baby birds got into neighbors yard then they got eaten by the dog but I take responsibility for that. Not neighbord dog just being a dog protecting his yard thankfully it hasn’t happened since the first two weeks of bird keeping because we learned to keep babies in a run . The adults have free range during the day. We have a coop that is up on stilts so they have an area to hide if birds etc come around to harass