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

[Mom2ballgrlz]

Went to hang some clothes out today, and to my horror, I found 3 of my beloved Silkies dead. Not sure what did it, but 2 had their heads gone, one was left pulled halfway through the hardware cloth. Could not find any holes that were dug under, and it was locked up tight. What in the world reaches through and does that? They were all together in a pile. They like to sleep in a corner together and I think something got them while they slept. Now my 1 silkie rooster is lonesome.

 

[cheeka]

omg, how sad! something similar happened to my BH's guineas 2 years ago, he thought coon, but never did find out for sure...
someone here will probably have a suspicion as to What did this

 

[okallthis4eggs]

Went to hang some clothes out today, and to my horror, I found 3 of my beloved Silkies dead. Not sure what did it, but 2 had their heads gone, one was left pulled halfway through the hardware cloth. Could not find any holes that were dug under, and it was locked up tight. What in the world reaches through and does that? They were all together in a pile. They like to sleep in a corner together and I think something got them while they slept. Now my 1 silkie rooster is lonesome.

Coons are known to reach thru and eat whatever they can pull thru the side of the enclosure. Sounds like the work of a coon. Another good reason to not rely on "chicken wire". However your calling it "hardware cloth" and they cannot reach thru 1/2" X 1/2" hardware cloth.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

True, sounds like a coons. Eating the head off is another sign of coons. I just got through installing another lock on my door, checking all around for signs of attempted forced entry...looks good still, the sound of all those peeps probably has mouths watering.

 

[bruceha2000]

Political signs are usually constructed with washer screws.

Should be a lot of those available after the primaries!

 

[okallthis4eggs]

I have never viewed possums as predators. I suppose they are but I always thought they were more of a scavenger. They look too slow to kill anything. Interested to hear from anyone who has had a problem with possums killing chickens. Do they kill more than one when they kill?

 

[RedIII]

Coons are known to reach thru and eat whatever they can pull thru the side of the enclosure. Sounds like the work of a coon. Another good reason to not rely on "chicken wire". However your calling it "hardware cloth" and they cannot reach thru 1/2" X 1/2" hardware cloth.

Agreed, this does sound like coon behavior. I've been trying to trap a massive one that wiped out almost all of my previous flock. His signature way of killing them was to crush their head, and one had been pulled partway through the bottom of the coop so that she was stuck. Raccoons are smart, and all I can say is to stay on your toes. I have tried a few different traps without much success, but I'm going to keep trying until I nail that thing.

I do have my share of predator stories, unfortunately. I have had a LOT of them this year.

As mentioned above, I have had problems with a huge raccoon raiding my coop at night and terrorizing my chickens. I tried putting out a pair of live box traps, but the raccoon was either too big or too smart to get caught in them. From what I understand, raccoons can actually reach through the wiring and let themselves out. If you use a box trap, or Hav-a-hart trap, I would recommend putting bricks or something similar along the sides of the trap so that the coon cannot reach out. I have also tried a barrel leg trap, which was avoided, and a medium sized jaw trap (smooth, no teeth) This was avoided, too. They're very smart, but I'm going to keep trying. I may need to wash the traps and then use gloves to set them out. I will camouflage them, too. Raccoons will detect the human scent on traps set with bare hands, and it will keep them away from the trap.

I have also had an incredibly large amount of dogs coming into my yard after my birds. To date, I've lost one turkey and two chickens to dogs, as well as had my rooster harrassed multiple times. My recommendation? Either get a good fence for where your birds range, or stay out there to watch them. I plan to do both, when I can.

I've had a problem with a feral cat killing my chicks, too. The problem was, I had the hen and the rooster that was with her inside of a run to keep them safe from raccoon attacks. What I failed to foresee was that the chicks were small enough that they could go through the chainlink very easily. This left them exposed to predators where the adults could not protect them. In the future, if I need to put a brooding hen in the run, I will either put a skirt of rabbit mesh along the bottom of the run, or I will keep the rooster outside of it so that he can chase off cats.

And......I know that this sounds gross, but I promise it works. If you're having problems with cats or skunks or the like getting into your coop/run, have a few gentlemen pee around it. The scent will really help drive off predators.

 

[just me]

I have never viewed possums as predators. I suppose they are but I always thought they were more of a scavenger. They look too slow to kill anything. Interested to hear from anyone who has had a problem with possums killing chickens. Do they kill more than one when they kill?

I've been wondering the same thing. Especially since we've trapped 2 possums this week. The trap is set right against the chicken run. They can't get in the run, but something has them stirring around there!!

 

[cheeka]

this is my new enclosure, exposed skirting will be covered with chunks of maple tree trunk, just wanted to show there is 14" of skirting around the entire dome. the coop is completely sealed to the dome, hardware cloth is actually threaded into the seams of the coop and bolted in place. for seven birds, it's quite large. it's 14.5'L x 12'W x 5.25'H, with a coop on each diagonal corner, you just can't see the other coop in this shot... more roosts will be installed in the enclosure... they will "live" here, and i still have the 8'L x 8'W x 4.5'H portable run to give them fresh grass and bugs.
This has been constructed in Memory of Barney and Lily, and to make sure the fox doesn't get any more free meals at my house!

 

[Sunflowergirl]

Well, yesterday I joined the ranks of chicken owners that have lost a chicken to a predator!

I had my chickens out in the yard with me when a humongo bird dog comes up and grabs one of my wyandottes in his huge mouth. I could not run fast enough to the chicken or the dog and did not have my stick in hand.
I am now "walking" my chickens with a 20 gauge shot gun in hand!
I have also talked with the owner of the dog. The dog is "normally" kept behind a fence but had accidentally gotten out when a gate was opened. And, now the dog owner knows I have chickens. So, hopefully that will help!