Chicken wire will stop many predators but larger ones like a larger dog, an old boar raccoon, or such can tear it. Another point of weakness can be how it is attached. If it is not securely attached it can be torn loose. Thinner gauge hardware cloth can be torn too by a big predator. Sometimes a photo can help convince people that it is possible.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1105056/dog-vs-hardware-cloth#post_17001519
Have you inspected that shelter for torn or damaged wire? Also, those tractors don't always set real flat on the ground. It doesn't take much of a gap for some predators to squeeze through even without digging. That's another potential source of weakness.
I don't know how close to the edge of the tractor that body was found or what injuries it had. A weasel can get through some mighty small holes but I doubt that was a weasel. They tend to kill a lot, not just one. I can't think of another predator that could get in that would kill one like that.
I think the most likely culprit was a raccoon. The can stick their paws through holes in the wire and grab a chicken close to the edge. In situations like your tractor mine tend to sleep right next to the wire. The solution is to add another layer of wire mesh too small for a raccoon's paw to go through. 1/2" hardware cloth should work. If they always sleep in the same corner that may be all you need to reinforce but I'd be generous. I'd want to go from ground level up at least 18".
Good barriers are your best protection. I'm all in favor of permanently removing a predator that is actively hunting your area, that reduces predator pressure. But that is not a long term solution and often not a short term one. There are more out there that can replace that one. Often there is more than one visiting anyway. When I restart a trapping program I often get raccoons on successive nights. That means more than one is visiting. People with game cameras often see a lot visiting in one night. If you get one how do you know you got the right one?
You mentioned neighbors and barking dogs. It's probably not a good idea to be shooting a gun after dark. You can probably find a raccoon sized trap at the feed store or maybe even a hardware store. Before you do that though decide what you are going to do with a raccoon, skunk, possum, bobcat whatever you catch. You never know what will be in that trap. You'd need to take it several miles away to release it if you don't want to it come back. Releasing it without the landowners permission is probably illegal anyway, even if the landowner is a company or city, state , or federal government. If you are in a rural area it's usually not that hard to take care of it but in suburbia the issues can get challenging.
I'm still in favor of removing any you can. But your best long term solution is good barriers. Those work when you don't.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1105056/dog-vs-hardware-cloth#post_17001519
Have you inspected that shelter for torn or damaged wire? Also, those tractors don't always set real flat on the ground. It doesn't take much of a gap for some predators to squeeze through even without digging. That's another potential source of weakness.
I don't know how close to the edge of the tractor that body was found or what injuries it had. A weasel can get through some mighty small holes but I doubt that was a weasel. They tend to kill a lot, not just one. I can't think of another predator that could get in that would kill one like that.
I think the most likely culprit was a raccoon. The can stick their paws through holes in the wire and grab a chicken close to the edge. In situations like your tractor mine tend to sleep right next to the wire. The solution is to add another layer of wire mesh too small for a raccoon's paw to go through. 1/2" hardware cloth should work. If they always sleep in the same corner that may be all you need to reinforce but I'd be generous. I'd want to go from ground level up at least 18".
Good barriers are your best protection. I'm all in favor of permanently removing a predator that is actively hunting your area, that reduces predator pressure. But that is not a long term solution and often not a short term one. There are more out there that can replace that one. Often there is more than one visiting anyway. When I restart a trapping program I often get raccoons on successive nights. That means more than one is visiting. People with game cameras often see a lot visiting in one night. If you get one how do you know you got the right one?
You mentioned neighbors and barking dogs. It's probably not a good idea to be shooting a gun after dark. You can probably find a raccoon sized trap at the feed store or maybe even a hardware store. Before you do that though decide what you are going to do with a raccoon, skunk, possum, bobcat whatever you catch. You never know what will be in that trap. You'd need to take it several miles away to release it if you don't want to it come back. Releasing it without the landowners permission is probably illegal anyway, even if the landowner is a company or city, state , or federal government. If you are in a rural area it's usually not that hard to take care of it but in suburbia the issues can get challenging.
I'm still in favor of removing any you can. But your best long term solution is good barriers. Those work when you don't.
