ready to buy a 22!!!!

[Mrs. Feathers]

Tonight DH let our girls in and counted only 6 on the "Diva Roost" where our 7 coop queens usually roost. We did a quick sweep of the coop and she was nowhere to be seen. We walked around the fully enclosed outdoor run (7`hight 2"x4" wire fencing) and found her dead in some underbrush.
Sorry if this is gross

but I want to find out what got her and try not to lose any more. Whatever got her took all the feathers off her neck and ate her crop, messed up her head but it was still intact and attached to the neck. A leg and one wing were missing, feathers pulled off the breast and some breast meat eaten...internal organs were intact.
No sign of entry under the fencing. We have a tree that we have been concerned something could climb up and drop into the run but if that happened there would be no way out. DH has lined the coop with mesh and predator proofed to the max.
We live on Vancouver Island and are thinking if it was a racoon how would it get out? Can they climb the wire fencing? Would a mink select and kill one bird in this way? I read that rats can kill chicens...we have not seen any by the odd time one of the cats brings a baby one home.
Can you tell this is the first bird we have lost to predators

.

 

[Ceilismom]

Mrs. Feathers :

Tonight DH let our girls in and counted only 6 on the "Diva Roost" where our 7 coop queens usually roost. We did a quick sweep of the coop and she was nowhere to be seen. We walked around the fully enclosed outdoor run (7`hight 2"x4" wire fencing) and found her dead in some underbrush.
Sorry if this is gross

but I want to find out what got her and try not to lose any more. Whatever got her took all the feathers off her neck and ate her crop, messed up her head but it was still intact and attached to the neck. A leg and one wing were missing, feathers pulled off the breast and some breast meat eaten...internal organs were intact.
No sign of entry under the fencing. We have a tree that we have been concerned something could climb up and drop into the run but if that happened there would be no way out. DH has lined the coop with mesh and predator proofed to the max.
We live on Vancouver Island and are thinking if it was a racoon how would it get out? Can they climb the wire fencing? Would a mink select and kill one bird in this way? I read that rats can kill chicens...we have not seen any by the odd time one of the cats brings a baby one home.
Can you tell this is the first bird we have lost to predators

.

Raccoons absolutely can climb the wire fencing. That would be my first guess, but is not the only predator that it could have been. Electrifying the fence would discourage a repeat offense.​

 

[justbugged]

I agree about it sounding like a raccoon. I heard about a loose dog roam my neighborhood, and I sure wish I could use the 22. I once again regret that I live much to close to neighbors, to really consider it as an option.

 

[wyandotte freak]

It may be a good idea to get a trail camera for your coop so you can see what is happening. They are relatively cheap now. For a .22, I would recommend a ruger 10/22.
A Marlin .17 HMR with a sweet 17 scope may be more to your liking though. It will shoot flatter, faster and are extremely accurate with that particular scope.

I catch alot of coons in my live trap using cat food, popcorn or tuna. You may want to try that, then you could catch the culprits(if it is a coon, possum, etc.) and either relocate or give them a dirt nap which is what i would do.

 

[Bantimna]

Quote:
Raccoons absolutely can climb the wire fencing. That would be my first guess, but is not the only predator that it could have been. Electrifying the fence would discourage a repeat offense.

Couldn't Electrical fencing be fatal to the chickens?
I'm guessing it was a raccoon, why don't you put a roof in the top of the run? This could help predators not to get in or out.

 

[Ceilismom]

Quote:
Raccoons absolutely can climb the wire fencing. That would be my first guess, but is not the only predator that it could have been. Electrifying the fence would discourage a repeat offense.

Couldn't Electrical fencing be fatal to the chickens?
I'm guessing it was a raccoon, why don't you put a roof in the top of the run? This could help predators not to get in or out.

Poor phrasing on my part. Electric wire is placed on the outside of the fence, ideally, there is space between the electric wire and the rest of the fence. So it is not the entire fence that is "hot". To protect the chickens, it is necessary to put chicken wire or hardware cloth on the bottom portion of the fence, so that the chickens cannot poke their heads through to the electric wire. This also prevents raccoons being able to reach through the fence and grab a chicken. Covering the run would protect from many types of predation, but would not protect from all. Things like wind and snow load would have to be taken into consideration.

 

[Dogfish]

A newer regular electric fence will not hurt chickens. Some of the older high power weed burner types may cause some harm.

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

Thanks for all the suggestions...

I was joking about the 22...no guns permitted where I live.
I am a bit nervous about today...plan to keep a really close eye on the run as I know that Public Enemy Number 1 will likely return now that whatever it is has had a taste. This weekend we are going to cover the run. It is a fairly large space but I think this is going to be a necessity. I am a little leary of the electric fence option as our little granddaughter plays out there...but not ruling it out.

 

[matthewschickens]

Quote:
Check out Premier 1