Unknown Predator??

[moozarkgirl]

I've learned lots from reading the forums. Maybe you guys can help me on this one. I converted a sturdy shed/garage to house 3 big beautiful roosters at night. It has a solid door which is shut after they are in. They have been safe there until last night. Unfortunately I didn't hear anything, just found the evidence the next morning. Two had heads missing and were bloodied and one was bloodied but head still intact. There were feathers everywhere. I'm really scratching my head on this one as the building is really tight.

I looked the building over thoroughly. The ONLY place anything could possibly come in is the gap between the top of the wall and the roof eaves, common for ventilation purposes, approximately 5". I had laid some common red bricks all along the top of the wall between the studs which now leaves approximately 3/4" open.
Outside that same wall I have stored stacked bricks which reach about 2' high. Three bricks along the top of the wall had been knocked down onto the floor.

So..what would get on a brick stack and reach approx 3 1/2 to 4' up to the top of the wall, push a brick to the inside to create a space to go through, jump down, kill 3 LARGE young roosters, take or eat two heads, and get back out the same way it came in?

 

[S n M Poultry]

sounds like the work of a coon to me

 

[Katy]

Minks will kill by biting in the head. They don't need a very big opening at all to get in.

 

[LinckHillPoultry]

Coon... or some type of weasel.

I'm very sorry for the loss of your beautiful roosters! I just lost a hen last week.

 

[RoostersCrow]

Sounds like a mink mo...

 

[Poison Ivy]

Sounds like a raccoon to me too. I cut & nailed 2x4's into the top of my coop to block those spaces off. I added vents in the side walls and covered them with vent covers. I was afraid the raccoons would climb the trees behind the coop and get in that way. Sorry about your birds.

 

[RoostersCrow]

Hey moozarkgirl

Just noticed your handle. What part of the state?

I'm stck in MD but still MO at heart!

 

[LynneP]

Funny you mention those openings, we have them above the spot where we're installing the roof on our run- vent holes into the barn loft. We've decided to board up the ten or so that would be accessible there even though the predators (I'm guessing coon or weasel/mink too) couldn't access the run but they could use the roof and vents to panic the chickens. I'm so sorry you lost those birds, it looks like you have one last thing to make the place secure. You aren't done though, you'll solve this...

 

[moozarkgirl]

Thanks for every one's input. I looked up info on weasels, martens, minks, fishers, etc. Very vicious animals, I hear.

I grew up around the south east US, so I am familiar with raccoons, foxes, snakes, etc. This is a different type of chicken enemy so I'll definitely have to use different tactics. So here's to chicken wire over every single opening, no matter how small.

 

[ChickNLittle]

According to our predator problems last year, I can tell you with 99 percent accuracy that this was a raccoon and he/she will be back. My husband actually ran out back and caught one coming in the roof eaves last year. The raccoon even tried to attack my husband. He hissed and struck at my husband, then jumped down and ran off. However, he did come back and got seven hens, one rooster and two peking ducks over the next week. We finally trapped him and brought him off. But another one showed up a week later, along with her baby.