Something eating my chicks legs

[Macksy]

Shew orangegrove how bizzare and traumatic! I hope you get to the bottom of it quickly. Poor babies.

 

[OrangeGrove]

It's not a human as all my coops are locked with a padlock. Im spending the day checking all the other coops and putting on fine mesh...funny that I've had no problem with the coops that don't have fine mesh. Whatever it is must only target young chicks. Also putting roosts up to get them off the ground. The one legged chick is doing well and gets around with ease. I take it around with me to all the coops as I sort all the chickens out...then spends time with me in the veg garden..loves the lucerne (Alfalfa) patch and especially the strawberries. If I see it suffering as it gets older I will not hesitate to cull her...but for now she seems really happy. I keep her isolated from the rest with only 1 other chick for company at night.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm wondering if you are missing completely any chicks in the coops without mesh? If so, the ones with no legs in the mesh pens could be a result of whatever it is getting in, attempting to drag a chick back through the mesh and only succeeding in removing legs in the effort to do so. This could mean the enemy is smaller than a chick and able to get into holes a chick cannot be pulled back through.

 

[teach1rusl]

Because we have cats, dogs, free ranging chickens, etc., I really debated using mouse/rat poison here (plus I just wasn't a poison person). After reading various on-line info. I felt pretty assured that MOST poisons that will kill a mouse/rat are not sufficient in quantity to adversely effect a larger animal if that animal ate the dead mouse/rat. So I've opted for the traps that the rat or mouse has to go inside to eat the bait - this way a cat/chicken/dog can't access the bait. If you opt for a poison, just read up a little on how it works...I think you'll find it reassuring.

 

[coach723]

There are also box type sticky traps. Whatever goes in basically gets glued to the bottom of the trap. No poison at all.
But you do have to deal with whatever is inside and probably still alive.

 

[teach1rusl]

There are also box type sticky traps.  Whatever goes in basically gets glued to the bottom of the trap.  No poison at all. 
But you do have to deal with whatever is inside and probably still alive.

Yeah....not a fan of sticky traps for that reason...unless the person crushes the trap to end the life inside the poor critter could live quite a while slowly starving or dying of thirst.