The Middle Tennessee Thread

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Thanks, y'all. It totally sucked finding them all dead. This was the group I started with and everyone had a name and a huge personality. It makes me sad that they ended their lives this way.
It only got my LF pen. My ameraucana pen is doing great, as is the silkie pen and the banty pen. It was the pen with my eating egg layers. It was a mix of wyandottes, barred rocks, welsummers, EEs, the young buff orp and young welsummers (the ones I hatched from you, Lori) and my big black ameraucana rooster, Hamlet. Hamlet was a great rooster.

Lori, it did get the two wellies I hatched from your world. Both had turned out to be girls and were at point of lay. Sigh. I went ahead and ordered some hatchery chicks to be here at the first of October. I've got one last hatch going of silkies and splash ameraucanas so I figure I can just raise them all together. What's 18 more chicks in the brooders?

The bigger problem is that I can't put anything back in that pen until I am sure that whatever is killing them is gone. So far I have had zero luck with the traps. I'm going to go to TSC tonight for some rat traps. If it is a weasel that will help I hope. It may be time to invest in a game cam. Stupid predators.

 

[bigdawg]

thats terrible. i have been catching coons and possums in a live trap. a large coon fit through a hole the size of your fist. does anyone have or know where i can get cuckoo marans eggs for hatching or young pulletts in the mid tenn area. i have a three old trio that are on egg strike. i have tried given them hot peppers, 22 percent layer, treats. still no eggs. i am wanting to expand my marans flock. i also can trade my light brahma eggs for them and i also have young muscovys i could trade with. thanks

 

[pickledchicken]

thats terrible. i have been catching coons and possums in a live trap. a large coon fit through a hole the size of your fist. does anyone have or know where i can get cuckoo marans eggs for hatching or young pulletts in the mid tenn area. i have a three old trio that are on egg strike. i have tried given them hot peppers, 22 percent layer, treats. still no eggs. i am wanting to expand my marans flock. i also can trade my light brahma eggs for them and i also have young muscovys i could trade with. thanks

Do you need the feathered shanks on them ? I have some clean leg very near point of lay

 

[bigdawg]

cool. what town are you in, how much are you aksing for them, and how many do you have. thanks

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I just bought a game cam, so hopefully this weekend I can at least see what is causing the problem.

 

[Jehu Layne]

Been with chickens along time. A possum will get one and eat it, a coon might kill more than one but will eat them or part of them usually, a skunk or weasel will kill them all and drink the blood and eat a little breast meat or start at the ********.A house cat will kill one or two and eat the breast unless they are young birds then they will kill quiet a few just for fun. A fox will get one and leave as will a bobcat usually.. A dog often times will kill everything and not eat anything.. Now the key word to all of these is usually

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

The run is 7' tall, so I don't think it is a dog. A dog could have scared them all to death, but I would expect there to be losses in all the pens if that were the case.
Nothing on them was eaten, except the one chicken that was totally missing. They were just dead. I didn't see puncture marks on the neck, but I have to confess that I was pretty much in shock. I was also trying to get that pen to a state that the banties could get out to roam (they exit their run through this one) so I'm afraid I wasn't as observant as I could have been.

It didn't smell skunky, but I know we have them out here. Can skunks shimmy up wire?

We have fox and bobcats too, although I haven't seen evidence of them at my place. Again, none of the bodies were mauled. They were just dead.

 

[DMRippy]

Donna did you ever get any Black Orps ?

No.... PM me with a price.

 

[TinTennessee]

1 pen, multiple birds, not eaten, no obvious entry point. I'm betting coon. Possible it was a fox. Now this sounds gross but try baiting the trap with a leg from 1 of the dead birds. They went after them the first time, maybe it'll get em again. Sorry for your loss.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Thanks, Tin. I already took care of the bodies, so the plan is to get some chicken necks at the store and use those. The game cam shows up on friday, so the plan is to build a weasel trap and bait the traps again on Saturday. I still have fish in them, but clearly whatever took out my chickens doesn't care for it.