GottaHaveBirds
Chirping
- Jul 28, 2016
- 24
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I'm posting my story here as a warning to others who may not consider squirrels as predators.
I had 20 two-week-old chicks in the coop separated from the older layers in what was supposed to be a secure area. A red squirrel managed to squeeze through a very small space above the door, killed four of the chicks and injured two that are now recovering.
Yes, a squirrel.
Two of the chicks' heads were bitten off; one chick's back end was mangled and the other had deep lacerations on its chest. I was in total shock. The squirrel lunged at me with outstretched claws, bounced off my hat and escaped.
The two injured chicks have head and back lacerations. Once is having problems walking, but is eating, drinking with human help and pooping fine. She/he is in large tote with pine shavings and a blanket. I check on her every couple of hours, holding her, hand feeding and giving her water with electrolytes.
I'm functioning this morning on barely any sleep and lots of coffee so please excuse spelling mistakes.
The other injured chick is still energetic and able to feed and drink by itself, but the new flock leader has rejected her. I put her back with the others after cleaning the wounds and applied Blu-Kote to mask the redness. One of her eyes is puffy. She is now in the coop with her flock mates in a separate cage.
I can't describe how devastating the loss it and deep guilt I feel not fully protecting those babies, not demanding that gaps and inefficiencies be fixed before moving them into the coop.
I was gardening when I heard a sharp chick cry coming from the coop and instantly knew that something was wrong. That cry was from the squirrel's last victim. The body was still warm when I ran inside.
I feel so guilty and mad at the same time. Those poor babies - how could I have let that happen? Stupid. Avoidable. They suffered. I failed.
There's hardware cloth on all doors, vents and windows. The killer squirrel squeezed through a space less than 1" wide.
I don't see squirrels listed as predators on most online communities and in the dozen books I have about raising chickens. I wouldn't have believed it myself had I not witnessed the carnage first hand.
Squirrels can be cute. But, yesterday I saw they can be killers. They are now on the predator list around here.
Thank you for reading.
I had 20 two-week-old chicks in the coop separated from the older layers in what was supposed to be a secure area. A red squirrel managed to squeeze through a very small space above the door, killed four of the chicks and injured two that are now recovering.
Yes, a squirrel.
Two of the chicks' heads were bitten off; one chick's back end was mangled and the other had deep lacerations on its chest. I was in total shock. The squirrel lunged at me with outstretched claws, bounced off my hat and escaped.
The two injured chicks have head and back lacerations. Once is having problems walking, but is eating, drinking with human help and pooping fine. She/he is in large tote with pine shavings and a blanket. I check on her every couple of hours, holding her, hand feeding and giving her water with electrolytes.
I'm functioning this morning on barely any sleep and lots of coffee so please excuse spelling mistakes.
The other injured chick is still energetic and able to feed and drink by itself, but the new flock leader has rejected her. I put her back with the others after cleaning the wounds and applied Blu-Kote to mask the redness. One of her eyes is puffy. She is now in the coop with her flock mates in a separate cage.
I can't describe how devastating the loss it and deep guilt I feel not fully protecting those babies, not demanding that gaps and inefficiencies be fixed before moving them into the coop.
I was gardening when I heard a sharp chick cry coming from the coop and instantly knew that something was wrong. That cry was from the squirrel's last victim. The body was still warm when I ran inside.
I feel so guilty and mad at the same time. Those poor babies - how could I have let that happen? Stupid. Avoidable. They suffered. I failed.
There's hardware cloth on all doors, vents and windows. The killer squirrel squeezed through a space less than 1" wide.
I don't see squirrels listed as predators on most online communities and in the dozen books I have about raising chickens. I wouldn't have believed it myself had I not witnessed the carnage first hand.
Squirrels can be cute. But, yesterday I saw they can be killers. They are now on the predator list around here.
Thank you for reading.
I am so sorry for your losses.
