Scat Near Chicken Coop

[IloveMyReds]

http://www.visualsunlimited.com/browse/vu227/vu227597.html

I hope the above link works.

A couple of nights ago six of our chickens were killed. It was terrible! Something dug a hole around the run and 6 of the chicks got out and were eaten. Whatever attacked them left NOTHING behind but one leg. No feathers, nothing! These chicks were a little over 10 weeks old.

Anyway, my husband mowed the lawn and noticed this scat (looks pretty darn close to the scat in the above link) and we are wondering if there is anyone out there who has experience or would like to offer their opinion? It was in the vacinity of the chicken coop as well as the bottom of our driveway.

Our neighbors have said that their dogs have been sniffing the air and ground like mad when they go out.

It was very upsetting to us. My husband has since laid chicken wire with cinder blocks on top on the ground all around the chicken coop.

Thanks in advace for your help!!!

 

[miss_thenorth]

If it was a bear, i personally don't think chicken wire will keep it out. Bear scat varies in how it looks, depending on what it eats. If they eat raspberries, it is red an dmushy, blueberries-purple and mushy. that looks like grain fed bear scat. Any grain fields near you? If it was a bear, I would be keeping my eyes and ears open. they like eay meals, and expecially at this time of year when they have just come out of hibernation.

make sure your dogs pee everywhere around where your chickens are, and for that matter, human pee wouldn't hurt, too (I know--gross but true) And maybe turn a radio on in the chicken coop. Bears are timid creatures, and don't want to be where humans are.

 

[IloveMyReds]

Thanks so much Miss the_North!! Those are excellent tips! I am so glad I posted this because there have been many sleepless nights with me. We do have black bears here and I am not sure what they eat around here but I do know there are berry bushes around in the fields behind my house. My husband is going to put one of those cameras up they take photos when something moves in front of it (used for hunting I believe) and see what all is roaming around the coop.

Thanks again for your time!!!

 

[SpottedCrow]

Darn...I'm so sorry about the chicks...

 

[dacjohns]

Bear scat is pretty close to the same size and shape as human feces. If it looked like the photo and was large then the chances are good it was bear. If it was smaller it may have been raccoon.

Canine scat, except for domestice dogs, will usually have fur/hair in it and is differently shape, more tapered and twisted looking.

 

[IloveMyReds]

Thanks for all of the comments so far! I finally had the chance when my son went down for his nap to run outside and have the pleasure of taking photos of the scat found around our house. Yippee.

I'd like to post the photo I took in my message but I can't figure out how to do it. I am new to forums and unsure of how to take a photo from my hard drive and place it in here. I'll look around the site and see how to do it and then I'll post the exact photo of what I am talking about.

 

[IloveMyReds]

I read on this site how to post photos and then I got an account with Photobucket so that I could post. I sure hope I did it right! Anyway, if you can see the above photos (which are not very clear but, I did not want to get close to it) you will see what I mean. It is chocked full of seeds.

 

[dacjohns]

Small bear or coon is my guess. I have some scat knowledge but I am not a scatologist.

 

[Wildsky]

Hm, I've seen Coyote poop like that before, full of seeds and plant matter..... other than that I've never seen bear poop or anything else...

 

[Katy]

I can't tell how big it is, but it looks like the coon poop I see around here.