The week of the predators.

[Tala]

Just thinking about my recent facebook statuses over the past 3 days, nothing but predator stories!!! Fortunately, no losses though (except developed eggs, but they weren't hatched YET)

Rat stole eggs from my broody, found a stash of layer pellets under a bucket that the chickens couldn't have done, baited it with Tomcat. Today I bought a real TomCat bait station to protect my birds from the baits.
Baby, ok "teenage" possum trapped outside my bachelor pad coop.
2 guys with flashlights prowling around in the alleyway behind my house this morning at 4.30am, called 911 and a cop shined his spotlight around but didn't find the guys.
Red fox trapped outside my bachelor pad coop.

I've never seen a fox up close before. I didn't know that they had such long legs. I had seen it cross the road at my in-law's driveway before, so I was worried about it when I moved my bachelors out to their property. I set the trap with catfood for the last 4 days, and the last two nights have caught predators.

 

[zazouse]

Man you got it going on over your way, talk about getting hit all at once,sheezz.

Well lets hope you scare um all away and trap what ya can't.

Beautiful fox.

We have lots of wildlife here but i am lucky that they don't mess with my critters, well one did a few times but she has moved on, couldn't take the heat from my dogs.

Them 2 legged critters are the once i can't stand lurking around, mabe they got chickens too and were doing the same thing you were.

 

[Louieandthecrew]

Wow! At least you haven't met any hawks yet! I ran into that problem over a year ago!

 

[Tala]

Quote:
We have a Sharpshinned Hawk in our area, I have seen him in my yard. They are small like Blue Jay sized. I haven't lost a bird to it yet, I assume because chickens are so much bigger than it is?? I dunno, I just sincerely hope that a larger breed of hawk doesn't drive "my" little hawk out of his terratory and start pretying on my birds!!

 

[ADozenGirlz]

We have had chickens for only a year and had a problem with a hawk in the first month, but nothing since. UNTIL THIS WEEK! Mind-boggling. We got FOUR raccoons, one opossum and a skunk. How many more ARE there?! We had no idea.

Rocky. He was the smallest:

Rocky, Sr. He was the biggest (that is a 42 inch trap):

The red-tailed juvenile hawk from last fall (he pulled our Silkie chick part way through the bottom of the chicken wire. We immediately reinforced with hardware cloth):

I didn't even think about taking a picture of the skunk...not messing around with his defense arsenal!

 

[redhen]

Aww.. poor fox...

 

[Tala]

At my yard in the city we have only trapped one raccoon --that my rooster beat up one night, causing me to buy the trap, best $$ I ever spent! Every chicken owner needs a trap! and a couple of semi-feral cats.

When I was forced to move the bachelors out to unfenced, uninhabited land, I was SURE that I'd be in for more of a battle.

 

[drumstick diva]

OOOh that fox!! Does he have to give you that "sad puppy," look? Blindfold him or you and dispatch him. He's much nicer looking than the mangy one we have around here.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

I just noticed the chicken legs in the second photo behind the fox in the trap! Did you have to taunt him with your KFC franchise before you precluded him from enjoying a last supper? LOL.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Yes, I put the trap right alongside the fence coz I had previously seen a fox on the property. I was hoping that the catfood bait would seem "easier" than digging into a pen of roos - and so far so good.
The pen itself is fairly predator-proofed. It's cattle panels covered in welded wire - the roosts are installed in the very center of the pen so they can't be grabbed through the fence while roosting. And there is a full welded wire top to keep climb-overs and hawks out. The only thing is that I haven't been able to install a dig-under prevention skirt yet, due to the extreme heat and the dense growth around the pen (need to let the roosters outside the pen, they cleaned up their yard in like 2 days flat!) We have gotten it almost weed-whacked down enough to get it installed so that is my current project, but when it hits 90*F before 10am work time is just plain limited. I would not have moved them in before it was finished, but I didn't really get a choice.

I will sleep a lot easier once I get that skirt is finished!!!!!!!