What in the world could have done this? WARNING GRAPHIC

[Gargoyle]

I am a newbie and want to prevent this. Were your chickens out of the coop? Was the coop opened by the coon, or a hole dug? Did this happen in the day or night? This info will help me building my coop. I want an open bottom run but if the coons dug under I will take my dad's advice and make it a screened bottom. I am so sorry this happened to you. I have a two year old and four year old and while they need to learn about these kinds of things I'd like to prevent this from happening if I can.

One of the best pieces of advice I saw here was to view a raccoon as a very persistent 5 years old child- if a five year old could get in, so could a raccoon. They can open latches, unwrap tie wires, pull things apart.
Use hardware cloth (the welded square wire mesh) not chicken wire, don't allow any gaps bigger than 2" x 2" (and try not to even allow that size anywhere), and if the bottom is open, dig down around the outside and bury the hardware cloth, also put a cloth apron 2 feet around the run- but animals still may be able to dig under.

Look in the coop building section here for more ideas. A lot of people use electric fencing and hav-a-hart traps.

 

[chikinfarmr]

A live trap with a can of cat food in it. A trail camera would help you identify your enemy. Good luck. Sorry about your chicken.

 

[BooneHillbilly]

Well the critter has gotten 2 more hens... After the first was killed they were penned up in their run as i free range them. Whatever it was went over 8' of chicken wire. The ducks and turkeys have not been bothered I guess because they have toprite netting... Live traps are out and the gun is loaded... Im going to be making me a hat real soon!!

 

[Gargoyle]

Live traps are out and the gun is loaded... Im going to be making me a hat real soon!!

Are they BIG traps? This sounds like a bobcat, although I'd think a raccoon could probably climb that fence too.

 

[JenBirdRansom]

Oh that is so sad. I'm so sorry about your chickens. I check my coop every night for any damages that may have occurred since the night before....because I'm paranoid. Every night I bring in all the feeders and lock all the girls in. Then in the morning I do it all in reverse. Truth is, I do love the "chore".

I hope you find that critter, whatever it is, and make a trophy out of it.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Bobcats seem to be overpopulating lately. It's fun for some folks, but not for us chicken owners.

 

[BooneHillbilly]

Well I have lost 2 more hens... I am going to have to hunt this thing i do beleive.

 

[kari_dawn]

can you put a game cam out? from the first pic, my initial thought was skunk...they are really good diggers, but if you cannot find dig holes, chances are it is not a skunk....can you put a top on your run? 8 foot is a lot of climbing (or jumping) for any animal, and coons would more likely tear THROUGH the chicken wire, instead of going over it....I would to a really thorough check for any holes in the wire, or dug uner it, and I would also switch to hardware cloth if feasable

 

[riverpilot69]

My guess is coon. My second guess is bobcat. Get a live trap and bait it up. whatever it is will go for the food in the trap and then go for the chickens. Good luck. I hope you catch whatever it is before you lose your entire flock.

 

[Chemguy]

No matter what the predator, we all seem to agree that it moves about on the ground, not through the air. I'm very bad at identifying prints, but maybe you are better. Take a look around the area where you found the hen, look for paw prints. That can give you a better idea of what you're up against. Raccoon prints will be smaller than a bobcat's. Really, the important thing is that the size of the print will help you to determine what size trap to use. If you positively ID some tracks, then that can give you a good idea of what to use for bait.