What killed my chickens?! 10 in one night (graphic pictures included)

[Howard E]

Having a hard time following......as the story seems to be evolving. Birds pulled through fence locations......then birds pulled back into the barn (presumably from within the fenced in area).....birds pulled under sliding door, but pop door left open, so questions about coons getting under a sliding door seemingly rendered moot. Way too many moving parts for me to help sort out.

Since the pop door was left open, it could have been a lot of things, but pattern of multiple kills with heads missing and bites to the neck still points to a mink or one of the cousins......weasel, etc.

Other than keeping the pop door closed........I'd make sure nothing the size of a rat can get under that sliding door you were concerned about.

If you have one, I'd also set up a game camera pointed at the entry points you are concerned about. Knowing for certain who is lurking about in the dark is your next step towards making sure you can prevent another attack.

 

[Howard E]

PS: If you are comfortable doing so, better pictures of the run and coops doors would be helpful, along with photos of the internals of how the coop is setup and divided off from the rest of the barn. Photos allow informed eyes to help evaluate your setup. A lot of times, what folks assume is secure really isn't.

 

[Howard E]

Looking at the photos again, the birds being pulled back into the barn.......is it possible those dead birds were being pulled into the rat tunnels? Rats might do that.

 

[WthrLady]

My closest water source is 1/3 of a mile away.....and we have mink.

 

[Howard E]

Closest large stream to me is over 1/2 a mile away and I've had mink tracks in the yard. It was checking out the muskrat dens in the pond.

 

[gtaus]

I should clarify, this happened over night and we did NOT have the door shut to coop, we had mistakenly left it open over night as temperatures weren’t real cold and we’d forgotten. I assume whatever it/they were entered run areas and entered coop, no signs of struggles or things moved/knocked around in the coop area. Nothing is able to get into coop it’s fortified, IF we shut the door.

OK, that is where I thought we were heading. It was an unfortunate, costly mistake not to shut the pop door on the coop and a predator took advantage of the security lapse. They live to take advantage of those moments. +1 for the predators for their instincts. We live and learn and hope not to repeat our mistakes.

I personally don't think you need a predator apron around your coop foundation if your coop/barn floor is concrete. If the coop/barn is secure when all the doors are closed, then it's just a matter to make sure nothing else is in the barn/coop before you lock it up. They say a mink or weasel can get through almost anything bigger than 1/2 inch mesh. So I would recheck for any gaps in the coop.

I have the same 2X4 fencing on my chicken run. Do you have any protection on the top of your run? I use bird netting to dissuade hawks and eagles, but I would think any racoon climbing the sides of the fence would not want to try to walk on the flimsy bird netting. If it did, it would tear through the netting and/or collapse it - and I would know from a visual inspection.

The 2X4 fencing is not going to stop a mink or weasel, but I have yet to see one of those coming around during daylight hours. As long as your coop is locked up tight before it gets dark, you would probably be OK. You can spend lots of money on rebuilding a more secure coop and run, but a door left unshut defeats everything.

Now that the predators have a taste for the chciken blood, I would probably put up a trail camera(s) and/or live traps to see what is lurking in the night. Where I live, we would kill the animal rather than freeing them somewhere else to bother other people.

FWIW, I am thinking your attack was done by a mink or weasel. But I only have seen one such attack by a weasel and that was on my rabbits when I was a young boy ~50 years ago. But I know that was a weasel because we ended up shooting it.

Again, sorry for your loss.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

OK, that is where I thought we were heading. It was an unfortunate, costly mistake not to shut the pop door on the coop and a predator took advantage of the security lapse. They live to take advantage of those moments. +1 for the predators for their instincts. We live and learn and hope not to repeat our mistakes.

I personally don't think you need a predator apron around your coop foundation if your coop/barn floor is concrete. If the coop/barn is secure when all the doors are closed, then it's just a matter to make sure nothing else is in the barn/coop before you lock it up. They say a mink or weasel can get through almost anything bigger than 1/2 inch mesh. So I would recheck for any gaps in the coop.

I have the same 2X4 fencing on my chicken run. Do you have any protection on the top of your run? I use bird netting to dissuade hawks and eagles, but I would think any racoon climbing the sides of the fence would not want to try to walk on the flimsy bird netting. If it did, it would tear through the netting and/or collapse it - and I would know from a visual inspection.

The 2X4 fencing is not going to stop a mink or weasel, but I have yet to see one of those coming around during daylight hours. As long as your coop is locked up tight before it gets dark, you would probably be OK. You can spend lots of money on rebuilding a more secure coop and run, but a door left unshut defeats everything.

Now that the predators have a taste for the chciken blood, I would probably put up a trail camera(s) and/or live traps to see what is lurking in the night. Where I live, we would kill the animal rather than freeing them somewhere else to bother other people.

FWIW, I am thinking your attack was done by a mink or weasel. But I only have seen one such attack by a weasel and that was on my rabbits when I was a young boy ~50 years ago. But I know that was a weasel because we ended up shooting it.

Again, sorry for your loss.

I was glued to this thread for information so as to learn. Everything was very helpful. We have a large run..we can play area..lol and it by no means predator proof-yet, because our chickens were intended to be free range but started tearing into the ducks. My younger pullers and cockerels are free range. We are making plans to change the coop in the spring after reading so much on here. Now I realize how much action we need to rake against mink/weasel. I’m so sorry for your loss. Welcome to BYC...you’ll learn so much on here, and everyone is so friendly. We look forward to learning more about your chickens under happier circumstances!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Second or third the weasel or mink they kill for fun

 

[gtaus]

our chickens were intended to be free range

Where I live, we call people that free range chickens former owners of chickens. We have heavy eagle and hawk pressure. I would love to let my chickens free range on my 3 acres of land, but I live on a lake and we have Bald Eagles and hawks overhead every day - looking for a nice chicken dinner I am sure.

I put my time, effort, and money into making a Fort Knox coop to lock the girls up every night. My chicken run is just 2X4 welded wire fencing with bird netting on top. That has proven to stop any daytime predators I have to worry about. So far, the Fort Knox coop and 2X4 welded fencing run with bird netting cover has proven to be a good combination for me, where I live.

 

[gtaus]

Second or third the weasel or mink they kill for fun

Well, they kill so many at once that it may seem like they kill for fun. Actually, I read that they kill as much as they can and stockpile them for eating later. That is their survival strategy. This is why I am leaning towards a mink or weasel trying to drag off the kill through the fencing. They want to stock pile their kills in a safe place for eating later.

I'm OK with wild minks and weasels killing wild rabbits and such. But when they find easy prey in our domesticated flock, it's time to end that relationship.