Never thought I would have a problem with the wildlife around me...we enforced the fence, I keep around the bottom of the fence lean, and each day I walk around it then at night close up everyone. Few weeks back, prior to the heat getting bad, we ripped off the old chicken wire and started a new roof, as this one was really getting old and starting to leak, the tarps were starting to show wear and tear.
As I do each morning, I counted the older hens and the young 14 week old pullets...one was missing. Looked all around, found a mass of feathers then realized that whatever got her drug her body up the brace posts we have in the corner of our chicken yard and went over it, then I found her...torn apart and half her insides gone. We put hot wire up, bottom and top of the fence, along each corner, hoping this was a one time thing..nope, next morning pullet #2 was gone and I was horrified! Never did find her body.
Put a trap out, few days pass, I would change the food inside and nothing. We even sat outside all night, the husband and I with a night scope on the rifle, didn't see or find anything. Tried to put flour out around where I thought the raccoon, who I was now certain was coming around, may be going..but having 4 very curious horses, they left tongue prints in the flour!!
But..I got lucky and caught a medium sized male coon. He was taken care of and his body put far back into the woods for whatever predator wished to eat him. Three nights ago, while my husband was outside around 22:00, I was feeding last hay for our horses when my husband spotted and shot another raccoon, this time a rather large sized female raccoon. Checked her over and she didn't show signs of having a litter..but I am hoping that this will be the end of carnage for now. Soon as the weather breaks and the husband has a free weekend, the rest of the roof goes back on.
The 6 remaining pullets, after the 2nd attack, refused to go into their coop and went in with the adult hens and my roo. I checked on them and found two of the pullets firmly tucked up against my roo, who is a beautiful Buff Orpington, he had a wing over one of them..he sure knows how to endear himself to me. Now everyone sleeps together...their coop remains open but they refuse to go back in it. Not too sure what to do with it now...it is in the same smaller pen as the big one...
This is what my husband used to dispatch the 2nd coon:
A Savage FVSR 22LR with Huntertown Guardian 22, Centerpoint scope and Laser Genetics ND-3.
http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv57/GreySorrel/dbad4538.jpg
As I do each morning, I counted the older hens and the young 14 week old pullets...one was missing. Looked all around, found a mass of feathers then realized that whatever got her drug her body up the brace posts we have in the corner of our chicken yard and went over it, then I found her...torn apart and half her insides gone. We put hot wire up, bottom and top of the fence, along each corner, hoping this was a one time thing..nope, next morning pullet #2 was gone and I was horrified! Never did find her body.
Put a trap out, few days pass, I would change the food inside and nothing. We even sat outside all night, the husband and I with a night scope on the rifle, didn't see or find anything. Tried to put flour out around where I thought the raccoon, who I was now certain was coming around, may be going..but having 4 very curious horses, they left tongue prints in the flour!!
But..I got lucky and caught a medium sized male coon. He was taken care of and his body put far back into the woods for whatever predator wished to eat him. Three nights ago, while my husband was outside around 22:00, I was feeding last hay for our horses when my husband spotted and shot another raccoon, this time a rather large sized female raccoon. Checked her over and she didn't show signs of having a litter..but I am hoping that this will be the end of carnage for now. Soon as the weather breaks and the husband has a free weekend, the rest of the roof goes back on.
The 6 remaining pullets, after the 2nd attack, refused to go into their coop and went in with the adult hens and my roo. I checked on them and found two of the pullets firmly tucked up against my roo, who is a beautiful Buff Orpington, he had a wing over one of them..he sure knows how to endear himself to me. Now everyone sleeps together...their coop remains open but they refuse to go back in it. Not too sure what to do with it now...it is in the same smaller pen as the big one...
This is what my husband used to dispatch the 2nd coon:
A Savage FVSR 22LR with Huntertown Guardian 22, Centerpoint scope and Laser Genetics ND-3.
http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv57/GreySorrel/dbad4538.jpg
