strange repeated chicken and chick murders. (graphic)

[mikescanlon]

well, this has been going on for about two weeks now.

i have a 8x2x2 small brooder that i keep outside, it's covered on three sides, and open in the front, has a heavy metal roof on top, it's off the ground about 3 feet, and is 5 feet tall total. it's florida, so i put my chicks outside with a light on day one, and they seem to do as fine as that goes.


well on this one occasion, i had around 75 2 week old boys in my brooder pen, and when i got home, only 4 were alive, the rest were crushed, twisted, pulled apart, or destroyed in some way, about 20 were missing completely.

this cage is completely enclosed, the roof is heavy, and was where it's supposed to be, the front and sides do not open- and at the time of this event my meat ducks and chickens were all free ranging, about 15 yards away in a 3 feet high fenced area.(meaties were left untouched)


yesterday i went down to the florida keys, late fridaynight, and returned this morning. (sunday) i found 10 dead meat chickens, mostly crushed, some had the wings torn off, some were eaten, i think the other chickens ate their bodies. all 12 of my quail were de-headed, no other damage besides that. 2 more chicks were crushed, and 1 duck had it's two feet ripped off it's body, he was not stiff when i found him, so i think he either suffered a long time, or it was very recent.


i have no roosters, my entire yard is not fenced, but my chicken area is with an 8' wooden privacy fence.

i have had a problem with racoons in the past, but i have shot about half a dozen of them, and caught one in a hole, and one in my garden.

i dont know what to think about these recent events, i cant help but think it's a person, but i want to know what others think.

 

[KellyHM]

I would vote for raccoons...

 

[mikescanlon]

i soo hope that is the problem, but some of the chicks. look like they have been given an "indian burn, and thier bones were all crushed.


and this most recent attack, none were taken.

the ducks feet that were pulled off it's body, have no teeth marks, it was about 2 months old, a muscovy.

can racoons, or are they known to, just pull on and crush animals?

 

[citrusdreams]

Can you post a picture of the brooder? Are the spaces in the cage big enough for a raccoon's skinny lil arm to reach in?

I'd vote raccoon too. I think you really need to consider keeping them in a predator proof henhouse with an attached and covered run at night until you get a handle on the predator situation. And keep the brooder in the henhouse or the pen. From your post, I think you're keeping them out in the open all day and night?

Even though I free range, I keep them enclosed in a coop attached to a run from dusk till dawn. Most predators attack during that time.

 

[mikescanlon]

i've had them in a henhouse for about 6 months, i recently built another area for my smelly meat birds while i put up the wooden privacy fence.

they now have a 32x24 area that is 8' fence high, with a 4 foot high gate on one side (all that was available) so at this point i have no idea.

the brooder is 1/2 on the bottom 8 inches, and the rest is 1", but it's 3 feet off the ground, the racoon would have to jump up each time to stick his arm in, and to kill around 70 of them that way? i dunno, i'll take a picture when the rain stops, which might be tomorrow.

i have them all in the covered and predator proof pen now, i have never had a problem in this pen, and i have been putting them in here at night.

the pen is 10x10 with a 8x4 A frame tractor connected.

 

[Brindlebtch]

Don't ya'll have naturalized pythons? That would explain the crushing.

 

[mikescanlon]

never seen one of those around here, iguana's however, are plentiful, but i've never seen a live one in my chicken pen, the chickens have made short work of the two that have stumbled in there.

 

[mikescanlon]

just read my post again, i dont know how i forgot to mention my quail, i had 13 quail left, and out of those 13 all of them are dead or missing now, i found quail heads, and i found quail bodies that were otherwise unharmed, i found one quail that was smashed, and cant find parts or anything of about 5 quail.

 

[Brindlebtch]

Mike, you wouldn't have any skunk ape reports around there, would you?

 

[kezabel]

My dog was a culprit of squashing my baby quails when I was a kid.
Do you have a dog and can it get its paws into the coop