We were attacked... :(

[FEWJATIV]

So I come outside this morning to feed & water my girls & find out we were attacked. 1 of my girls was lying dead in her fenced in area & my other girl was completely missing. I am assuming it was a big strong raccoon. The area around my door was dug up & the chickenwire I buried around my run was pulled back. I even found a footprint which makes me think it was a raccoon. Now my next thing to do will be to predator proof the run once again & completely finish the coop. Then I will be in search of new chicks. Sad day but I will be back with more chicks hopefully soon...

 

[FEWJATIV]

 

[FEWJATIV]

 

[NickChillPhoto]

So sorry to hear about this tragedy. It's very sad. What do you mean by the chicken wire being pulled back? I always want to know how predators get in, so I can anticipate and prevent.

 

[FEWJATIV]

I ran chicken wire around the while outside structure about 18" high & it fell roughly 18" on the ground which I had buried to prevent predators from digging under. The only area not really protected was the door for obvious reasons. But i had still buried the chicken wire.... this morning where the raccon dug up the dirt it found the chicken wire that was buried & pulled it back to get better access to keep digging... smart lil mofo.

 

[NickChillPhoto]

I ran chicken wire around the while outside structure about 18" high & it fell roughly 18" on the ground which I had buried to prevent predators from digging under. The only area not really protected was the door for obvious reasons. But i had still buried the chicken wire.... this morning where the raccon dug up the dirt it found the chicken wire that was buried & pulled it back to get better access to keep digging... smart lil mofo.

Geez. I've placed a couple feet of hardware cloth on the ground surrounding the run. I'm hoping it's harder to pull back than the softer chicken wire. I might do some extra securing, now.

 

[Kiki]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[FEWJATIV]

I'm just gonna have to figure something out.... it really sucks tho

 

[Kiki]

A good gun might be a good idea. Do some hunting tonight?

 

[rottlady]

do you have a friend with a large live trap? I'd put it inside the pen so that something coming through the hole would go in it and set the bait where the dead chicken was