STARTING OVER😭

[Rldad1]

Sorry for your loss. Beef up your security. A mink can get through a 1 inch opening. Use 1/2 inch HC everywhere and make sure there are no openings anywhere even up on top of run or coop. Even this wasn't a mink attack this will stop other predators.

 

[Sparkles1978]

Im so so sorry. This happened to me only a few days ago. But for my flock of ISA hens, it was a fox. Snuck in behind me while I stepped away for less than 5 mins to grab fresh feed. I lost 2 of my six girls. These things happen even when we think we've done our best. But now, your coop will be able to be mink free and the new babies you bring home will be safe.

 

[BlueEarChicken]

Every morning i love waking up and looking out my kitchen window and seeing my ladies in the morning light talking away and my roo roo screaming to wake everyone up. Sadly xmas morning I got up and did the usual only all I seen were feathers everywhere And then the bodies of all 15 of my girls and my poor roo roo dead under the coop. My heart is broken. I've tried protecting my chicks and this is a first in 4 years. Through research I've learned that its it's a mink attack. So my question is what can I do to prevent this happening again I thought I had everything secure but I guess not from a mink. Im sad and sickened for my girls and roo roo.

So sorry! We had an attack the day after Christmas, though it was by a neighbor’s dog. It’s really so sickening when this happens. I hope you’re able to secure the coop to ease your mind.

Becky

 

[JNC]

So sorry! We had an attack the day after Christmas, though it was by a neighbor’s dog. It’s really so sickening when this happens. I hope you’re able to secure the coop to ease your mind.

Becky

Sorry about your loss too! I also had a dog attack and it was the neighbors. However police found that they dog wasn’t vaccinated and they got charged for it. Exactly a week later the dog came again and the dog was taken away from her.

 

[Mountaintop Homestead]

I definitely feel for your loss, having chickens is a lifestyle choice and something definitely feels missing without them. I will consider myself lucky to still have 2 roosters and 2 guineas left but I recently during Christmas also lost most of my flock. 6 hens, 1 rooster, and a guinea fowl. I caught the critter causing so much damage, it was a Mink. I thought I had my coop buttoned up but those predators are resourceful, I'm still scared to return my remaining 4 birds to my coop. Even though we did figure out how it was getting in. I will be starting over this spring. Sorry for your loss.

 

[BlueEarChicken]

Sorry about your loss too! I also had a dog attack and it was the neighbors. However police found that they dog wasn’t vaccinated and they got charged for it. Exactly a week later the dog came again and the dog was taken away from her.

oh wow.
I don’t like when people don’t care to control their dogs when they know they are predatory. We are slightly more lenient with our dogs now but that’s because they’ve gotten older and they are generally well-behaved. I don’t have to worry about them wandering off and killing neighbors’ pets. The worst they do is mosey in to the compost pile.
We have also had two attacks by hawks, one was awful the other was not as bad, and in both cases my chickens were able to recover! Man I’d love to be able to move someplace more secluded where we didn’t have to worry about neighbors!

 

[JNC]

oh wow.
I don’t like when people don’t care to control their dogs when they know they are predatory. We are slightly more lenient with our dogs now but that’s because they’ve gotten older and they are generally well-behaved. I don’t have to worry about them wandering off and killing neighbors’ pets. The worst they do is mosey in to the compost pile.
We have also had two attacks by hawks, one was awful the other was not as bad, and in both cases my chickens were able to recover! Man I’d love to be able to move someplace more secluded where we didn’t have to worry about neighbors!

Good thing they were able to recover! I see hawks all the time but they have never come. I’m pretty sure it’s because I have them enclosed in a small place and if they hear a crow or hawk or see it they go running inside their house. I’m glad that you dog is behaved. My neighbor should have been responsible after they got charged and watched their dog. The second time no duck got hurt because I knew they were irresponsible so I took close watch.

 

[cmom]

So sorry for you losses. I haven't ever had to deal with anything in the weasel family and hope I never do. I have never lost all of my birds at once but have lost birds to predators. Once a bobcat killed 14 birds. I did catch the bobcat and eliminated it, which I know isn't for everyone. It shouldn't have came back. The traps were set inside the fence in the pen where it had dug under the fence a couple of nights prior and killed the birds. I do have cameras around on my property and do see quite a few predators on them especially here at night. I do have electric wires around my coops and pens and they do keep the predator here away. Once they touch the hot wires and get zapped they don't test them again. I would try to trap it. We had quite the coyote problem here. Here they are the top predator. Nothing will prey on a coyote but they will prey on everything else. A neighbor gave some fellows permission to hunt on his property and there were some dens on his property. The hunters must have scored because I'm seeing far fewer coyotes than I have in the past. Another bobcat recently outside my chick/grow-out coop. I'm sure it won't go any closer because it probably knows the electric wires are there. Good luck...

 

[hayley3]

So sorry for you losses. I haven't ever had to deal with anything in the weasel family and hope I never do. I have never lost all of my birds at once but have lost birds to predators. Once a bobcat killed 14 birds. I did catch the bobcat and eliminated it, which I know isn't for everyone. It shouldn't have came back. The traps were set inside the fence in the pen where it had dug under the fence a couple of nights prior and killed the birds. I do have cameras around on my property and do see quite a few predators on them especially here at night. I do have electric wires around my coops and pens and they do keep the predator here away. Once they touch the hot wires and get zapped they don't test them again. I would try to trap it. We had quite the coyote problem here. Here they are the top predator. Nothing will prey on a coyote but they will prey on everything else. A neighbor gave some fellows permission to hunt on his property and there were some dens on his property. The hunters must have scored because I'm seeing far fewer coyotes than I have in the past. Another bobcat recently outside my chick/grow-out coop. I'm sure it won't go any closer because it probably knows the electric wires are there. Good luck...
View attachment 2472795

I would freak out if I saw that on my game camera!

 

[bryan99705]

that sounds like a dog attack. they will attack for the thrill and are exicted by the flapping