I am so sorry to hear that. You have a good strategy: thanks for sharing
So sorry for Mrs. K's loss (I feel her pain having just lost our matriarch to a bobcat while the girls were free ranging just 20 feet from me). So helpful to hear how you are keeping your flock "in" - it's a lot easier to do that if you start that from the beginning versus suddenly taking free range privileges away. Also helpful to know that the 20 x 10 with reinforcement works well for your flock of 8. We are also installing an electric fence as added protection and will follow your tactics of the chain link with wire covered tops.So sorry Mrs K. We have coyotes here, too--in numbers. We also have weasels, foxes, hawks & squirrel families. The squirrels just eat the feed from the chickens & pigeons during the day & don't really bother the birds. However, the weasels, hawks & foxes have tried to get our birds (they did not get them) but have successfully gotten neighbors chickens that are loose or in accessible housing. As much as we would like to allow free range, we don't. We use chain link fencing with wire covered tops & small wire ground level for all pens. We are dealing with 7 hens & a rooster, "Buddy". The chicken run is 20' X 10'. Good luck to you-I hope you find a solution.
So very sorry for your loss, Mrs. K. It has helped me a lot to read your post as we just lost our matriarch to a very aggressive bobcat - not scared of humans. We are so very sad and miss our lady so much - as do her flock. I've come to realize that free range is not an option for us and we are now building a "chicken fortress" to protect the remaining very small flock - it's unfortunately the end of free ranging for our ladies. This is our first loss and it sure does hurt our hearts - they say, "misery loves company". Hope this helps you, knowing you are not alone in this.
If the bobcat had no fear of humans it needs to be dealt with, call your game warden to let them know of the problem or if it comes back and causes problems shoot it. An animal with no fear of people is very dangerous
Thank you - good advice - will contact our game warden (contemplating the gun thing now that we have a flock).
So sorry for your loss. Having raised chickens for some 60 years I have learned that each hen, rooster, and chick has a personality of its own. I have a small 7.78 acre farmette where I keep rabbits, chickens, ducks, Asian heritage hogs, sheep, a goat, and my buddy an Aussie service dog and farm worker. One of the things I do is after making sure my hens and flock rooster is well protected is get a dozen or two Cornish cross hens and any old roosters that people want rid of and the hens I don’t use for meat I let run, free range with the extra roosters, yes I started with 8 hens I didn’t consume I’m now down to 3 hens and 5 roosters and since it’s fall have started to round them up. The hens will probable go in the cooler for later oriental dishes and the rooster, none of them Cornish cross will probably be canned for winter soup and stew. After two visits from a bear, spotting 14 coyotes at once, fox, and seeing coon, opossum, and a weasel which did get in the hen house and cost me two hens but is no more, due to the expertise of a trapper friend, I lick my wounds and am thankful for what’s left. The price I pay for the loss is nothing compared to the joy of the greetings I receive in the mornings when I do my chores. Have a great adventure.
I had spotted a Bob cat on my property once when I was night fishing and it let out a dream behind me. Later to find out that a lady up the street was feeding it as it pilfered the neighborhood. Yes contact the game commission!
For several years ago I raised Rhode Island Red hens. We have many varmin in the area some including bald eagles, ospreys, and red tailed hawks. I was standing in the living room and something caught my eye. It was a mighty large red tailed hawk that had captured a red hen and had taken it about a hundred feet away from the run and was attempting to devour it. Ever since that time I tread heavy twelve pound cat gut fishing line across the top of my chicken yard if a hawk gets in it can’t get out and that’s where my farm helper with a short tail comes in, he protects the hens and drives off the predator if it still has wings to fly. Animals take care of their own.Yeah I don't think a bird killed em either, but I will say I don't think even an eagle could fly off with a full grown chicken (maybe a bantam) cause they can only pick up 1/3 of their weight. Had a hawk attack at work and it killed 3 bantams but did it on the ground cause it couldn't take off with them. Just some random bird info I learned through experience and asking a couple people that work at a bird of prey conservatory near me.
Coyote sounds about right, maybe even a bobcat. That's so frustrating and heartbreaking, hoping you get things figured out.
