Something getting my hens at night

Birdman Jr

In the Brooder
Feb 5, 2018
20
11
44
I’ve lost 2 hens in the past week during the night. I have 2 separate coops one with my full grown chickens and 1 with my broody and a younger chick and a almost full grown hen she hatched. On Saturday i found the broody was dragged outside the coop and her head was eaten and her abdomen was ripped open. Last night i forgot to close up the coops and came out this morning to find the younger chick was not with the rest. I checked the coop and all there is are tailfeathers left. I’ve set out live traps only for my bait to be taken and the trap set off with nothing in it. I’ve caught a possum and a skunk in About a week. Both were caught days ago and dealt with. Obviously not the culprits
 
Fox perhaps. Only a game camera will tell you for sure. Lock them up or you will continue to lose them.
 
Not sure where you are located, and knowing that helps us to know what kind of preditors you have in your area.
If you are using a havaheart trap, you must wire the bait in the back side if it has one door, or wire the bait to the center pan if it is the two ended design. This makes them really have to work at removing or eating the bait.
Test fire what ever type of trap you are using and make sure it is triping correctly and at a hair trigger.
Make sure to close up your chickens at night and remember a weasel, one of the most blood thirsty preditors around will fit thru a hole of one inch size.
So make your coop and roost area tightly constructed. Chickens are helpless at night.
A trail cam is a piece of equipment all long time chicken owners depend on. Because preditors never give up, and just when you get one flaw in your coop set up repaired, preditors find another weekness.
Also i have used baby monitors in the past to alert me of problems.
Sorry for the loss of your birds!
Hope you figure this out.
 
I’ve lost 2 hens in the past week during the night. I have 2 separate coops one with my full grown chickens and 1 with my broody and a younger chick and a almost full grown hen she hatched. On Saturday i found the broody was dragged outside the coop and her head was eaten and her abdomen was ripped open. Last night i forgot to close up the coops and came out this morning to find the younger chick was not with the rest. I checked the coop and all there is are tailfeathers left. I’ve set out live traps only for my bait to be taken and the trap set off with nothing in it. I’ve caught a possum and a skunk in About a week. Both were caught days ago and dealt with. Obviously not the culprits
You have more than 1 animal. I trapped 3 coons in 2 days from my girls day run. I caught a family of them on camera. I leave traps set everynight. Went 2 months with nothing then got an adult male this morning (outside of pen). I'm sure if you have possum and skunks you have raccoons and Fox too. My neighbor has trapped 11 possum in 3 months by his pens.......
 

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