Two of my chickens taken by predators this morning

[roosterhavoc]

Did you not find the dead chicken?

 

[Animalfisherwoman]

I found the dead Marans in the middle of my backyard, decapitated, around noon. My BF found the dead BR behind the bushes when he came home from work around 4 and rooted around back there.

My BF did not let them out this morning and thinks there's a poss that he left them overnight, accidentally, or that something lifted the egg boxes or latch.

 

[roosterhavoc]

I found the dead Marans in the middle of my backyard, decapitated, around noon. My BF found the dead BR behind the bushes when he came home from work around 4 and rooted around back there.

My BF did not let them out this morning and thinks there's a poss that he left them overnight, accidentally, or that something lifted the egg boxes or latch.

Definitely a raccoon. You have some crazy trapping laws there so I’m not sure what you can legally use besides a cage trap. They’ll work fine with something sweet, eggs, marshmallows etc.. for bait.

 

[centrarchid]

I found the dead Marans in the middle of my backyard, decapitated, around noon. My BF found the dead BR behind the bushes when he came home from work around 4 and rooted around back there.

My BF did not let them out this morning and thinks there's a poss that he left them overnight, accidentally, or that something lifted the egg boxes or latch.

Good details in latter paragraph put raccoon back at top of list. Be looking for more than one raccoon.

 

[Animalfisherwoman]

My BF has sat out there with a pellet gun when we've heard them along the fence, but they make themselves scarce. I'm thinking snare or live trap followed by dispatch.

 

[centrarchid]

My BF has sat out there with a pellet gun when we've heard them along the fence, but they make themselves scarce. I'm thinking snare or live trap followed by dispatch.

You might be able to catch one or two using the live-trap option, especially if you use a chicken carcass as bait. I would place trap against fence and make so raccoon can only smell / see bait by approaching opening. The raccoons will get wise once you catch one or two of the group. Dog proof traps are effective. Cost-wise, simply upgrading coop may be the more effective approach. The traps at the very least will cost about $8 and could get up around $30 or so with the cheaper live-traps. The snare option may cost you friends if a cat or dog caught.

 

[Stacyoung13]

People are saying fox, but I've never heard of a sighting nearby. Even mountain lion sightings are more common, but they have been exclusively on the other side of the eight-lane highway where I'm at.

I know that predation is common and have been conditioning myself to view my chickens as livestock. But damn, I raised these two from when they were just li'l chicks, they were just starting to lay, and the one BR was very cuddly.

I miss them, like pets.

I found out on the web that peppermint will keep racoons away. I know for a fact that it keeps mice and rats away. Come to think of it, I haven't seen any coons for awhile either. Lol
I put 2oz peppermint Extract in 18oz spray bottle fill with water. Spray perimeter of chicken area. If you try it update with results.

 

[Animalfisherwoman]

Definitely a raccoon. You have some crazy trapping laws there so I’m not sure what you can legally use besides a cage trap. They’ll work fine with something sweet, eggs, marshmallows etc.. for bait.

Well, the laws also say that if you feed a cat on a sustained basis, you legally own it and need to be legally responsible, which largely doesn't happen among those feeding the rapidly expanding feral cat population.

But yeah, live traps. Have access to those. Perhaps they can be baited with the carcass I processed for, it turns out, the hell of it.

 

[Animalfisherwoman]

You might be able to catch one or two using the live-trap option, especially if you use a chicken carcass as bait. I would place trap against fence and make so raccoon can only smell / see bait by approaching opening. The raccoons will get wise once you catch one or two of the group. Dog proof traps are effective. Cost-wise, simply upgrading coop may be the more effective approach. The traps at the very least will cost about $8 and could get up around $30 or so with the cheaper live-traps. The snare option may cost you friends if a cat or dog caught.

Speaking strictly hypothetically, if group members of a dead raccoon(s) were to come upon him, dead, would they be more likely to stay away?

 

[roosterhavoc]

Speaking strictly hypothetically, if group members of a dead raccoon(s) were to come upon him, dead, would they be more likely to stay away?

Haha. No they might be more drawn to the carcass though.