Well it happened

[toyzbox]

I'm so sorry this had to happen to you. I'm such a newbie that I have not had to deal with this "yet" but from what I see from everyone else, it can happen no matter what you do. So I'll say like everyone else, don't beat yourself up. For me, I want to learn from you. Can you tell us exactly how he got in? Maybe this terrible thing can come to some good use.
Thanks

 

[rancher hicks]

You know they say to look on the bright side. My wife is sympathetic I think. She's offered to help me secure things. She's not an animal lover and I expect had she found the @#$%%%^ coon it wouldn't have gotten away. Lord I married a good woman.

 

[chickachickadoo]

Don't beat yourself up too badly. We seem to take comfort in a law of averages that we expect to go our way--surely nothing will bother them in the few minutes it would take me to get out there to shut the door--but then nature or hungry animals change things on us.

It is a huge, expensive pain in the butt to try to build a coop as tight as possible when you don't have the money to spend a lot on it. That's what we're looking at having to do in order to protect our investment. The coop we had been using is being scrapped as it was way too far back towards the woods and wildlife. We're going to put the new one nearer to the house and light and activity. Motion-activated outdoor lights.

WHen we think back to the sadness of cleaning up those 9 dead sweet babies who were only 9 or so weeks old and had been killed for loose dogs' amusement, suddenly the money isn't such a big deal. Cleaning up our dead babies was heartbreaking.

Maybe I should just build a cot in the coop so I can sleep out there sometimes.... Or not. lol

 

[rancher hicks]

Well a day has past. What happened was there was an opening near the roof and it climbed up on run and got in. It's all sealed now. They can't chew through 1/2" hardware cloth can they? I talked with tigerlily and she says she hasn't had a problem w/ predators. I also have 2 friends who have barns and they haven't had a problem either. They free range I think. Do you thing "coop" chickens are more vulnerable?
It rained and poured last night though I checked at 9.10,11 pm and at 2am sloppy though it was and things were fine.
Birds w/ real bad neck wounds don't make it do they? I'm kinda concerned. I wish they sold penicillin w/o a script.
We have a rolla way cot and beleive me I thought of it. If my wife was away I probably would have. Course if she found out she'd have me commited.

Thanks everyone for your advice and concern I don't know what I'd do w/o you.
I never thought I love the crow of a rooster as I do now. It kinda signals everything is ok. I guess.

 

[Zookeeper9000]

Sorry for your loss. They sell animal anti's at tractor supply with out a script.

My best friend is a electric fence, you can buy solar fencers at tractor supply as well. I lost 18 of 19 of my 20 week old chickens to the neighbor's dog last year, not any more.

Had something hit the fence a couple of nights ago. Next day I walked the line. That pred got such a hit that it pooped itself. Man I just love my electric fence.

 

[TennesseeTruly]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your hens. I was just saying to my husband that for the area we live in I wonder why we haven't seen any coons, possums, or anything. Then he left some 50 lb bags of dog food in the barn. Sure enough, something got into one of the bags!

We have traps out now. Haven't caught anything but I warned him not to leave any food out ever again. My chickens, ducks and goose are too important to me.

I hope you catch yourself a coon!

Laurie