What got my chickens?

[Henry&Friends]

Update...lost all my chickens but 2 last night. So, there was one corner of the house that we thought was secure and it wasn't. Lost all but 2 hens, my brother is taking the 2 survivors to his home till we can make our hen house more secure. I am just sick

Oh no, I’m so sorry for your loss

 

[Wezdin]

If it is possible in your area I would go out tonight with a green light and shoot anything that comes up to the coop. It was the right choice to relocate the remaining ones.

 

[Tlco]

If it is possible in your area I would go out tonight with a green light and shoot anything that comes up to the coop. It was the right choice to relocate the remaining ones.

Yes we can shoot them, my mom is so mad she just might do that. I am 57 and have not shot a gun since I was 12. We are gonna put concrete all around the run and hen house and redo the roof on the run with sheet metal. Then get more chickens once we have it better secured.

 

[Wezdin]

Sounds like a good plan

 

[cmom]

Sorry for your losses. Do you have any game cameras. I like to see what is prowling around my coops.

 

[Tlco]

We know its raccoons we have seen them and ran them off. We set Have a Heart traps with tuna, inside the chicken yard (my brother took the last 2 hens to his house for now). We are gonna try and trap and release far away form humans out by the rivers. We plan to set the traps every night till we stop them. This won't get them all but it will get some. After revamping the hen house and yard and added a larger roof i am gonna install a baby monitor in the hen house along with a motion light. I have heard that in the dark the birds are sitting targets as they won't run or fly away as they can't see the predator coming. I hope this will work if not then I definitely have a 22 or a 45 with a laser scope I can learn to shoot. I hate killing them they are just doing what nature tells them but I have had enogh. Hell by the time I finish with this chicken house I could have bought a brand new barn for them...lol Will update you all on the out come. Thanks again.

 

[Wezdin]

How did it go last night? Are there less coons in the woods?

 

[Tlco]

We caught 1 coon last night, and reset the trap for tonight. Took his butt out to the river early this morn so he has all day to find himself a new home and food source. I am sure we are gonna get more he was a young one the same one that got in the run and then left when he couldn't get to the hens. I think the older ones will come back tonight. They ate 6 chickens night before last so they gonna be hungry tonight that tuna is gonna being them in. Just wish i had more then 2 traps.

 

[cmom]

I don't know what the laws are there but if I had a coon killed that many of my birds, it would never kill again. Depending on how far away you took it, it may be back. A local game and wildlife officer here told me that I can shoot them as they are not endangered. I had a fox several years ago dig under a gate to a pen kill a bird and drag the body out and go back and kill another bird and drag the body out. It did this several times. It will never kill anymore of my birds. Now I have concrete under all of the gates. I don't relocate and give someone else the problem. In some places it is illegal to relocate.