So they're dead now. :((

[Gingechicken]

Both chicks, Stella and Deedee, our Brahma teenagers. They were laying in a pile this morning--something had eaten their heads/necks down to their chests. Of course, I was the one who found my little sweeties. It took me this long to post because I am shattered. My neighbor/bestie thinks it was a small coon. No idea. People keep chucking their cats out of their cars around here and they keep winding up at our places, and they've killed other people's chickens, so who knows. Spent 3 hours today putting chicken wire across the top of the big girls' place, and, after reading posts for the last ten minutes, I'm going to do even more tomorrow--someone mentioned Fort Knox: oh yeah, it's on, baby. Kill my little sweeties, you're not getting my Rock girls next. I know whatever it was will be back since it had a meal. My besties' hubby set up a number of live traps baited with Honey Buns (apparently, Honey Buns are like crack for coons). I'm just so, so sad...my babies... ( All my Brahmas, gone...

I'm so sorry. It could also be weasels even though they normally just take the heads. Opposums will go normally go for eggs and sometimes chicks

 

[GrannyHeeney]

I think your discovery of how many predators are around should be an eye opener. Most would be horrified to know the extent of the things that go bump in the night. Always lurking and always a threat.

Unless you are willing to commit to an eternal trap and kill program, which really only gets the ones dumb enough to fall for the trap.......you may want to consider beefing up security to the point it doesn't matter who or how many are lurking around. If they can't get in they can do no harm?

Oh yes, we're setting up for eternal warfare. Other than the babies, the adult grabbed the other night was kinda the one nobody was attached to--Rotisserie's the biggest, Dumpling's the littlest (escape artist), and Scrambled considers everyone she meets her best friend. So if we were going to lose one... =( Poor Poached. But forewarned is forearmed. The place is on lockdown--nothing's getting in once that new coop gets here. ::wrasslin' Granny::

 

[GrannyHeeney]

I'm so sorry. It could also be weasels even though they normally just take the heads. Opposums will go normally go for eggs and sometimes chicks

I was just getting ready to research weasels. I read something a bit ago that said we have a few here and there, with more towards the Piedmont area, but I ain't taking any chances! We up in arms over here!

 

[GrannyHeeney]

Yes!! She's gorgeous. Disclaimer-They're purbreds, and I don't know if this is just Dove, but they're extremely derpy.
View attachment 1416520

Oh, she's beautiful! Like she's carved from Dove chocolate. Hubby's starting to get obsessed over the dark, red brown RI hens, I bet he'd like these girls. <3 I bet she's sweet, too.

 

[Kimmyh51]

Sorry for your loss (and thankful I live in relatively predator free NZ)
Last year we had a rat problem, thanks to a neighbour who insists on putting egg shells and food in his compost, and I lost 3 ducklings in one night to rats, after seeing them around for a while, and spending time trappin them etc, but not wanting to use bait due to it being cruel and they hadn't touched any of the ducks or ducklings,so I got blaise about the risk
Well after I found one of the ducklings,it was WAR. Bait, plus I went out and brought an air pistol and dispatched several of them to rat heaven the same day. Funny how your perspective changes when you realise it's them or your babies.... I now have no qualms in shooting any rat or mouse I see, and while I still don't like the way bait works, I consistently use it, as it's the only way (short of shooting the real problem, my neighbour who still puts food out for the local rodent population) to control them, and it's a either that, or lose my ducks, and I am not going to lose my ducks...
I also now keep all ducklings in cages with very small diameter wire around the entire run and where the run sides meet the ground I either put cement in, or put the wire out across the ground for 6-8 inches. Unfortunately with rats, the only way I have found to sucessfully control them is bait.
Not sure what the best option is with raccoons, but maybe sitting outside the coop with a gun? That's how I spent the nights following the duckling deaths... Drank a lot of coffee at work that week!

 

[MillersFarm]

Sounds like raccoons, Know anyone who's a trapper? If you want to get rid of them i'd get a dog proof duke raccoon trap.. 22. riffle will do the job nice and quick.

 

[Rubysword]

She's adorable! She's broody right now, though. Not surprising, honestly.

 

[GrannyHeeney]

Sorry for your loss (and thankful I live in relatively predator free NZ)
Last year we had a rat problem, thanks to a neighbour who insists on putting egg shells and food in his compost, and I lost 3 ducklings in one night to rats, after seeing them around for a while, and spending time trappin them etc, but not wanting to use bait due to it being cruel and they hadn't touched any of the ducks or ducklings,so I got blaise about the risk
Well after I found one of the ducklings,it was WAR. Bait, plus I went out and brought an air pistol and dispatched several of them to rat heaven the same day. Funny how your perspective changes when you realise it's them or your babies.... I now have no qualms in shooting any rat or mouse I see, and while I still don't like the way bait works, I consistently use it, as it's the only way (short of shooting the real problem, my neighbour who still puts food out for the local rodent population) to control them, and it's a either that, or lose my ducks, and I am not going to lose my ducks...
I also now keep all ducklings in cages with very small diameter wire around the entire run and where the run sides meet the ground I either put cement in, or put the wire out across the ground for 6-8 inches. Unfortunately with rats, the only way I have found to sucessfully control them is bait.
Not sure what the best option is with raccoons, but maybe sitting outside the coop with a gun? That's how I spent the nights following the duckling deaths... Drank a lot of coffee at work that week!

Oh yes, hubby sat inside with a window open and a shotgun on his lap. It was from about 11 pm til about 11:30, and we heard something crunching through the woods. Within minutes, the live trap went off. Luckily, the landlord was pre-warned about cannon-fire LOL but never a shot fired(til morning).

Now there's that wee possum sitting in the trap (my besties' hubby is going to take care of him after work, about 3 hrs from now). The damn thing is cute. ARGH. Cute little pink nose, cute little quivery ears... That cute little thing is probably what ate my babies, and each time one of us goes out to look at him, we'll call him an s.o.b. or something before coming back inside. LOL No mercy here, and cute only gets ya so far when you're eating our sweet little babies. ::Granny rage::

 

[GrannyHeeney]

that was the only bearproof thing we could concoct without breaking the building code.

I read your post to Hubby and he came off the couch--there are building codes for COOPS?? :-o

 

[chicken4prez]

I'm so sorry for your losses. I have too lost some of my hens recently. It's hard.

I'll be praying the predator doesn't come back again.