Raccoon question

[Th55]

When coons attack chickens in coop do they eat everything? All I found was a single foot.
There wasn’t a whole lot of feathers/blood and no carcass was found.
Went on vacation couple weeks and apparently they had been coordinating their attack. I Put up a camera to confirm plus found where they climbed a bare wall to get inside. 22 birds lost.

 

[centrarchid]

This is reason I do not like to leave for extended periods of time. I have caretaker that I contact everyday while I am gone.

Raccoons do sometimes drag carcasses off. They usually leave more of a feather trail than something like a fox. Farther drags I have seen have been about 50 feet. They often leave carcass in heavy vegetation or under some cover. Killing and removing 22 birds makes me think they had multiple nights to do work and no one stepped up to correct. This is something that should have been prevented. I am not sorry for anyone but the chickens.

 

[slordaz]

Sounds more like multiple predators and scavengers were enjoying unwatched flock while nobody was a round. I am sorry for your losses. One thing I do if I am gone for more than over night even is have someone come stay for the duration of absence if nobody will be home, instead of just someone checking at feed and watering times

 

[doublecrossranch]

I’m so sorry to hear that. They probably dragged them off and that’s why there isn’t much evidence left.

 

[EggWalrus]

You also need to watch out for the 2 legged kind that totes burlap bags or pillow cases. Stealing livestock is still a hanging offense in many states (but they usually get off light with jail time).

 

[goldysgirl]

Awful. Sorry to hear that.

 

[Th55]

We bought this old farm with 30 acres and the coop looked really secure, in the last 2 years we had only lost one bird a couple months before we went on vacation. It was lost in a temporary pen I had made to separate two roosters from the pack. He just disappeared, no feathers or any indication of predator.

They were free range, have an automatic feeder outside the coop and several waterers plus I added an automatic door to the coop to let them out in morning and it shuts in the evening.

My aunt and uncle came by to collect eggs and check on things while we were gone. Since we hadn’t lost but the one in 2 years and they free range I didn’t for-see any issues nor did I expect my aunt to do a head count every day to check for MIA chickens.

We haven’t taken a vacation in over 10 years and this one fell in our lap. Was not keen on leaving the house that long but got complacent with the birds being pretty self sufficient.
We were gone for 2.5 weeks so once the coons figured out how to get in I’m sure it turned into an easy routine for them. Initially I did not suspect coons as it didn’t seem reasonable or feasible for a coon to
A) completely Eat an entire chicken save a very very few feathers
Or
B) drag a full grown chicken up the wall and through a 3 1/2” gap at the top then 100+ yards out of sight. There was so little evidence inside the coop or even around the yard. This was why I asked about the aftermath from others coon attacks.

So far coons are the only critter that has shown up on the trail cameras, but there are multiple ones.

Ultimately will never know in all what did what, but have gotten the gap closed off and am installing an electric wire around coop before starting over.

Am a little suspicious about 2 legged critters as well but would have thought chickens would have been the last thing to steal.

 

[slordaz]

yeah could be too legged too, I had someone try to steal a broody off her nest and kill ring her neck cause she drew blood as they didn't see much activity only takes em a couple days to case the place if they don't see much activity, especially all the people that don't know anything other than they decide they are abandoned and not being taken care of.
There was a big hoopla caused by one of them here because old and newborn colts aren't as fat as a horse in it's prime, they were screaming bloody murder and trying to get people to go rescue them because they were being neglected even after the state vet went and checked on them. They were screaming the state vet didn't know what he was talking about and outta have his license revoked because he contradicted them after a thorough examination

 

[Chicken Heel]

I feel for the OP and coming home to what was found. I share the opinion that this sounds a lot like two legged predators may have been involved since the parties may have realized the land owners were not around. The comment on taking a vacation hits home because my poor wife gets frustrated with me not wanting to travel anymore. And this is why.

 

[Folly's place]

We have neighbors who watch out if we're gone, as we do for them. We also have friends with small farms and critters, so we help each other for farm sitting, and a family member who stays here too. It's about having a network, and it works.
Otherwise, we'd hire a pet sitter to stay here while we were gone.
Mary