The worst kind of predator

[EweSheep]

There was a farmer who had 18 chickens stolen from his coop.

He didn't look too happy about it.

http://illinoishomepage.net/content/fulltext/?cid=95672

There were people trying to steal chickens, probably for their own use or for food. Or someone got some rare chickens.

 

[Lunachick]

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Don't you just LOVE it when the news people laugh afterwards? Oh hahahah that chicken stealing story...hahaha.

I'd be MAD. I guess those people just don't understand.

Jody - I hope your chook heals up fine and you figure it out.

 

[horsejody]

At this point, I'm just hoping Matilda recovers. There aren't too many small kids in the area, but a few people do have their grandkids visit them. It's hard to imagine that any would have been unsupervised long enough to make it all the way to my house because our neighbors aren't very close by. Even though the recently acquired duck is loved by the area kids, I still have a hard time believing that any of the younger kids would have been over without their parent or grandparents supervising and asking permission first. I know all of teens in the area. There aren't too many. There are 2 girls 3/4 of a mile to the north that I would consider beyond reproach. I have known them for years. If they had let the birds out, it would have been an accident and they would have stayed until I got home. They never come over anyway. There are 2 new teens that moved in to the south recently. I have known there mother for years. We aren't best buddies, but I don't think the kids are trouble makers. Again, if they messed with the pens, I think they would have let me know if they accidentally opened it. My strongest suspicion is the neighbors that own the dogs that caused the massacre last fall. Yesterday was Thursday, and for some reason Thursdays always seem to be their trouble maker days. My birds were killed on a Thursday, and their other off leash episodes seemed to occur on Thursdays also. Possibly it's their day off. I don't know. They did steal my cat once ( I know because she said it in court during the civil trial for dog damages). Maybe they were trying to steal a chicken. They may have also been trying to make them bait for another neighbor's pitbull. I did see him loose yesterday. However, he never leaves his yard and is friendly. He understands and respects his boundaries very well. Maybe I just have a suspicious mind. DH was trying to convince me that I had possibly left the run open, but I specifically remember checking the run doors before I left for work. They were both closed!!!

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
If they did, I'm sure they would have killed my slow moving duck or a broody. The only injury seems to be my sore pullet. eggs weren't stolen either. If it was coon, he wasn't hungry.

 

[jjthink]

ERGGGGGGG!!! I'm so sorry Jody. Humans are indeed the root of most problems, either directly or by being irresponsible with their pet predators. I hope Rodney got in their face and I hope poor Matilda will be okay (maybe aspirin water for a couple days?). Rescue Remedy if the crew is stressed.
Sending good thoughts your way

JJ

 

[MysticScorpio82]

There is no need for that! I just don't understand how some people's mind work... I am glad all your chickens were accounted for. I hope Rodney chased off the jerk(s) and I hope Matilda recovers quickly.

Lol all I can think of when I envision Rodney defending his area is this you tube video that someone else posted a while back!

Hehe

 

[horsejody]

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I love that video. It reminds me of a problem one of my friends had once. She has a chicken phobia. She keeps her horses at my house. She came to visit them once while the chickens were free ranging. Well, my chickens assume everbody has treats so they stalked and chased her all over the yard until she managed to make it back to her truck.

 

[wombat]

Any chance it was just a loose latch?

I woke up at 5am the other day with that "something's amiss" feeling. Looked out the window, and all the chickens were loose.

My first thought was that a predator had managed to pry the gate open ... found a coop access door wide open instead. I thought maybe someone had decided to steal some birds ... turns out, none were missing, and the kids and opened the access door we have on the side of the coop for winter watering/feeding, couldn't get the bolt to shut, and didn't want to tell me they'd broken the rules and had that door open unsupervised ...


Hopefully, you just had a loose latch or a curious kid.

We put up some cheap "fake" security cameras around our place ... that and the BFD seem to have solved the 2-legged interloper issue.

 

[gardencricket]

Quote:
I love that video. It reminds me of a problem one of my friends had once. She has a chicken phobia. She keeps her horses at my house. She came to visit them once while the chickens were free ranging. Well, my chickens assume everbody has treats so they stalked and chased her all over the yard until she managed to make it back to her truck.

Reminds me of my sister and the african goose dad got her, she was MEAN!! and chase everyone!!

she was eatten though, coyote got her but not the chickens

 

[gardencricket]

Quote:

I hate when things like this is made out like it's not a big deal and then reporters getting it wrong, he came home to find them gone, it didn't happen when he was there.

before I say more.