Starting to really worry about the safety of my birds. :(

[briana1975]

If you can get an infrared wild game camera. Set it up where you are having the problems and the pictures will let you know what you are dealing with. We use my husband for hunting and problem animals which usually turn out to be racoons. Good luck.

 

[JennsPeeps]

It sounds like you need more protection to keep people (?) off your property.

This is scary stuff.

 

[Silkie's Grandma]

I agree - a NO-FLASH game/trail camera will give you some answers.
if it is a animal, the flash really shouldn't matter - but - if it is human causing the problem, they will know where the camera is by the flash & could destroy your camera.

 

[wegotchickens]

Another idea is to scatter a fine layer of flour all around the chicks area as you walk away. Then anything that goes to mess with them HAS to leave a track of some kind.
Even if you can't see prints, the disturbed area should tell you if you have a small coon-sized predator or a large human-sized predator.

 

[applefalls]

Just curious... did you check their feed?

It is strange that none of the birds were missing/hurt. If there is a sicko poisoning animals in the neighborhood, that person may have put something in the cage... but then why not shut the door?

This is an interesting problem, and I wouldn't be surprised if you stay up all night on recon. (I think I would!)

 

[JennsPeeps]

Oh, and replace that wing nut with a padlock or luggage combo lock. Neither a raccoon nor a human can open that.

 

[luvmychicknkids]

Well, until I figure out SOMETHING, the babies are back in the house. I hope I can secure it well enough to feel comfortable in the next day or two though.

As for the big chicken house, I climbed on a ladder and took a bunch of pics inside this little front/attic type thing I can't reach. It has a thick layer of chicken dust in there which is, for the most part, undisturbed. There was one tiny row of prints that look like mouse tracks and straight through that was a straight line...snake? However, it was also very small (not much larger than the width of the mouse tracks) so it isn't anything large enough to even eat my eggs. It also seemed strange to me that there is only one little row of each. Anything touching that dust would have left a mark. I think that rules out a large snake hanging out in there eating eggs. Oh, and I lost all my eggs again today. While it would be possible for them to hide their eggs somewhere in the yard, I just can't imagine all of them deciding to hold off laying until evening. Most of mine lay before noon.

I am going to check into motion sensor lights and some type of camera. I have a few friends/family who hunt so one of them may have something I can borrow for a few days. And yeah, I think I will be camping out by one of the back windows tonight watching. Strong flashlight in one hand, gun in the other. The police really aren't a viable option here. It is over an hour drive from the headquarters and there is not even 911 service here.

I DO have one neighbor I don't trust at all. Most of my neighbors are great though. However, one of my really sweet neighbors apparently moves her ex husband in every few years and that happened a few weeks ago. She has always seemed really sweet but seems unfriendly now. I honestly doubt it is any of the people right by me, but who knows. I just need to find a way to know for sure.

The incident with the babies last night and the loss of eggs may not even be connected in any way. I could very well have two separate predators. I just need to find out for sure. I looked at the babies food and water and didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but they weren't allowed to eat it anyway, just to be safe. I definitely thought of the possibility of poison. I think, if a human did take the door off it was done so they would escape and be lost or killed.

Anyway, going to definitely keep trying to find out and I will post it if I find out anything. Thanks a bunch for all the suggestions and comments.

 

[Bluemoon420]

Snakes usually dont go in a straight line. Their tracks should look like a zig zag sort of. Unless it's a rat, and that was it's tail dragging.

If I think of anything else Ill post again hehe

 

[luvmychicknkids]

Quote:
Well, I wondered about that on the snake thing (since I have 3 snakes you'd think I might know that LOL) but it was strange. The mouse tracks went East to West. The straight line crossed it running North to South. No other marks at all.

And please do!!! I appreciate any help I can get on this!!!

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Quote:
I agree with this. This is a fool-proof method to catch anyone not swift enough to look down.

I would give it a go if you don't have anything else handy at the moment. I wish you luck at your quest to catch your 'predator'.