SOME ONE OPENED MY COOP!

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

OK I am really really freaked out here!

I free range my chickens, but not until late in the day when I can be out with them or they've paid their rent. I have ten adults and thirteen chicks. The chicks were in a dog cage inside the coop. I was in the slow integration stage of letting them be together but separated.

So I look up and see my chickens walking pat my window!!!!!

My coop is very hard to close and open. The latch warped and it requires work to open, my daughters cannot do it. Then the dog cage inside was also opened!!! The babies were all running around inside the coop.

Totally totally freaked. There is no one here but me and the girls (both home with fevers).

Why would some one do this?? What did they want? There are only four eggs and there should be more by now, think they just did it for the eggs???

 

[vfem]

I don't know... maybe someone who was homeless passing by and grabbing eggs... or a neighborhood kid being nosey?! Or a serious oops on not shutting everything up super tight.... I haven't a clue?!

 

[CoopCrazy]

I have come home to that too.. Think it was the neighbors being butts.... DO what I did get a lock ... Oddly I started getting eggs again after that...

 

[pdsavage]

sounds like its time to get a lock.....or an alarm...

 

[momof247371]

wow, thats really mean and scarey for someone to do! I hope you have a really mean rooster. it would be good if you did, you could tell who done it by the blood trail. lol If you find out who done it.. let us know!

 

[chickenpea]

I started locking mine after selling chicks in the Pennysaver. One day I came home and no silkies left but 1.The nerve of some peop;le.

 

[emvickrey]

I had that happen to me also. I was awakened up by our dogs barking and I got up to look becaue it was a greeting bark not a somebody's here bark. So who ever did it knew us. I did see a figure that had stooped down in the dark so all I could see was a dark outline. The dogs where hanging around the figure. I went to get the hubby up and the person left. He told me it was just another dog in the yard. Next morning the chickens here already up and out. We have coyotes all around this area. We where very lucky they didn't come visiting too. May our dogs chased them away.

We have a lock and hasp to close our coop but we don't lock it unless we have kids in the yard that don't know to stay out or we leave for more than a day, which rarely happens. Our animal sitter knows where the key is. So we just leave the lock open. Whoe ever did it even put the lock back on the hasp when they opened the door. We always hang it on the wire next to the hasp.

 

[Chicky Tocks]

school's out for summer....

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

I was thinking the same thing - some one maybe got curious or wanted the eggs and got more than they bargained for. My egg production has seemed low, I was starting to wonder what the deal was.

If the person went in to get eggs and decided to "pet" the babies the rooster may have taken offense!

He's not mean, but he is very protective of his flock (he made it pretty clear that the babies were under his care to me yesterday when I was trying to put them in their cage).

It doesn't make sense to let them out and alert me to their presence.

Time for a lock. I never thought I would see the day. Never. We lived in the city and never once had a break in. We moved out here to the country - the house was broken into, the cable guy stole from us, tools have walked from our barn and now this.

 

[CoopCrazy]

Honestly I have had more problem with breakins in the country as well .. Especially where i live now.. We have also been broken into, had bikes , tools , etc stolen... My last house we were on a hill in the open , no breakins ( never locked our doors) , now I live in the woods and all the time have problems