Tell How Predators Got Your Chickens. Save Somebody Else From The Bad Experience

[lisa32469]

I don't think this one has been in one before, the two I have seen on my porch are maybe a year old..they may worked together to get out the one that was trapped. The only reason I even thought of relocating is I hate to kill ANYTHING, but now it's them or mine...Mine will win out on this battle...thanks for the link. I will look into it.

 

[EeyoreD]

I don't think this one has been in one before, the two I have seen on my porch are maybe a year old..they may worked together to get out the one that was trapped. The only reason I even thought of relocating is I hate to kill ANYTHING, but now it's them or mine...Mine will win out on this battle...thanks for the link. I will look into it.

I understand and believe in what you're saying. But relocating just makes smarter coons someone else's problem. I don't enjoy killing the coons that I trap (and I had signs of other coons trying to dig them out of the cage traps, too) but all I think of is me gathering up my chicken carcasses and dumping them and that pushes out any thoughts of not killing something.

I won't kill just to kill, or for fun. But I'll kill to protect the things I'm meant to protect or what I'm going to eat.

Some people will smugly say this is some sort of intellectual machination meant to circumvent black and white. All I can say is: it's my thinking that makes me not feel justified in killing things that generally irritate me without doing damage like coons do... like people who think in black and white.

 

[scrapingran]

Wow. My girls don't stay in their run. They get out the gate or just go through the fence above the chicken wire (our coop and run butts up to a horse pasture with a 6 ft. fence). I will be talking to my husband about tightening up the doors the girls use to get in and out of the coop (I always bring them in at dusk), as well as the people entry into the coop, and the possibility of electric fencing to keep them in and predators out. I am new to this and appreciate everyone's willingness to share their stories. I though my girls were prettty secure since I can see them from the house, but now I am having second thoughts.

 

[Pecked2Death]

I have had Free Ranging - completely for over a year now. In the first few months, we had no issues. then we lost three chickens to hawks - one other the hawk had, but we scared it off and the chicken lived. I have seen some pretty horrible injuries (that I thought would end up with me finishing the bird off)
So I would love feedback on what injuries are created by which animals.
1. Chickens with only their heads bitten off - more than one chicken and lots of spread feathers.
2. Chickens that are kind of ripped up a bit, a bit eatten maybe? a puff of feathers in one spot and not feathers everywhere.
3. All chickens killed in the daytime, around the middle of the day.
We have shot a Racoon in the chicken coop - but the chickens had chosen to sleep outside that night and were not in the coop - so no loses.

We do have a new 20' x 10' run now for the chooks and we are working on the coop that attaches and detaches, so we can move each and give them plenty of room to roam.

We don't watch the chickens outside either - but did start cooping them up after the last 4 chickens were killed off.

Oh we also had a family of skunks living under our driveway culvert - we think we got rid of them with moth balls.

 

[drdoolittle]

I lost one of my only two showgirl roos and my only lavender silkie hen to rats. I got a problem with Norway rats becuse they discovered the chicken feed in the coops. I had prety much "rat-proofed" the main coop, but the rats found a way into the pen the silkies and showgirls were in. I found the showgirl half-way pulled down into a rat hole, but never found even a feather from the silkie. I finally just put quite a bit of TomCat down into the rat holes and filled the holes in with dirt------haven't seen a rat sine, and it's been several months. Now I have 2 barn cats that seem to like going in the main coop to sleep in the nest boxes all day long. I think the smell of the cats keeps new rats from showing up.

I also lost a Polish roo just the other day to a raccoon (I think). I had asked my 17-year-old son to close up the chickens and he forgot. I found the roo in the big pen with his entire breast area eaten away. Poor thing----he was our favorite Polish roo, Krunk.

 

[BroodyChknMomma]

Well, I didn't lose any hens but, I almost did. I had a very well protected coop, we had double welded wire run, a rock trench and a very strong coop. Well, unknown to us a rat must've chewed a quarter size hole in the corner of the coop and an Ermine got in. I went out to shut up my chickens for the night and I heard them cackling loudly. I went out and I thought it was a ferret because, I'd never seen an ermine before. I chased it out of the coop and went over to the neighbors asking if they had a lose ferret. No, they didn't I went back into the coop and the ermine was back and it was attached to one of my GL Wyandotte hens. I pulled it off with my bare hands and I had to kill it since it kept coming back.

We promptly lined the flooring of the coop with 1/4 wire hardware cloth and stuffed any holes with steel wool and hardware cloth.

I also put a 500' range baby monitor out in the coop so I could keep an ear out in the coop, so if the chickens started cackling I could go out and make sure there wasn't a predator.

So far no loses.

 

[prettychicks]

Well, I didn't lose any hens but, I almost did. I had a very well protected coop, we had double welded wire run, a rock trench and a very strong coop. Well, unknown to us a rat must've chewed a quarter size hole in the corner of the coop and an Ermine got in. I went out to shut up my chickens for the night and I heard them cackling loudly. I went out and I thought it was a ferret because, I'd never seen an ermine before. I chased it out of the coop and went over to the neighbors asking if they had a lose ferret. No, they didn't I went back into the coop and the ermine was back and it was attached to one of my GL Wyandotte hens. I pulled it off with my bare hands and I had to kill it since it kept coming back.

We promptly lined the flooring of the coop with 1/4 wire hardware cloth and stuffed any holes with steel wool and hardware cloth.

I also put a 500' range baby monitor out in the coop so I could keep an ear out in the coop, so if the chickens started cackling I could go out and make sure there wasn't a predator.

So far no loses.

I love the baby monitor idea! Glad you got rid of the ermine.

 

[prettychicks]

I have had Free Ranging - completely for over a year now. In the first few months, we had no issues. then we lost three chickens to hawks - one other the hawk had, but we scared it off and the chicken lived. I have seen some pretty horrible injuries (that I thought would end up with me finishing the bird off)
So I would love feedback on what injuries are created by which animals.
1. Chickens with only their heads bitten off - more than one chicken and lots of spread feathers.
2. Chickens that are kind of ripped up a bit, a bit eatten maybe? a puff of feathers in one spot and not feathers everywhere.
3. All chickens killed in the daytime, around the middle of the day.
We have shot a Racoon in the chicken coop - but the chickens had chosen to sleep outside that night and were not in the coop - so no loses.

We do have a new 20' x 10' run now for the chooks and we are working on the coop that attaches and detaches, so we can move each and give them plenty of room to roam.

We don't watch the chickens outside either - but did start cooping them up after the last 4 chickens were killed off.

Oh we also had a family of skunks living under our driveway culvert - we think we got rid of them with moth balls.

I know that racoons will grab any part of a chicken that they can through the wire and start biting and pulling. They are famous for ripping heads off. Dogs will kill a whole flock and not eat them.

 

[lisa32469]

I did hear of someone that works for the park district and someone got fined for "dumping" in the park...it was coons he had trapped. They are having a big problem with them destroying stuff in the park...so, yeah, relocating is not an option. I do not want someone else to have to deal with the same problem...they just don't have any natural enemies to keep them in check around here. No one even hunts them anymore...

 

[aprophet]

Thats all good but has to take a lot of time trapping that long. Do you make much at it or you doing it just to get rid of the coons, foxes and coyotes. I hear a coon is worth from $10. to $15. What do you do to protect against hawks?

my target species are fox,coon, possum, Muskrat nutria, mink,otter I will only trap coyote if someone is paying me too depends on the other species and what the situation is I trade a lot rather then just charge for removal , at this time there are no preds here. I only let my chickens out if I am with them I have a kestrel here in my yard he is almost a pet But I have seen him kill and eat cardinals and robins I do not trust his appetite most mornings my trapline takes 30min - 1 1/2 hours it depends on what part of the city I am in I trap a few exixt ramps and they are marsh it takes a little to get in and out the ones up on land I do not have to be there 5-10 minuites

the fur on the coon has been averaging $10 the "meat is worth 10 as well all the water animals are processed as meat as well beaver brings $2/Lb most are 20-60 pounds they dress out at abt 50% depends on species my B'cat have been $75 or so the last coupla years I run "bait piles away from my flock too this keeps preds away from my birds and I know where the preds are opening day of trapping season