What kind of predator does this....?

[PippyChicken]

Okay so we have a few roosters that were being mean to the hens so we put them outside..They have been outside for a while but just starting a few days ago something was getting into where we put them at night and came to get 1 once a night.They are up under the steps and it's all wired but it opens the wire and gets them.We have found feathers everywhere.Also every night my Dad gathers eggs and leaves them on the steps and every night they are gone.We have found them scattered everywhere too but whatever gets the chickens is cracking a big hole in the eggs and eating the yolk.Any ideas as to what it is??We also have only 1 rooster left but we put him in the cage where are rabbits use to be and nothing got him last night.

 

[chickensioux]

Sounds like a raccoon to me.

 

[Rebel Rooster]

WANTED!... DEAD!

 

[PippyChicken]

Quote:
Cool pic!!

 

[PippyChicken]

I know there are some raccoons around here..I told my dad to set the trap.(If we catch it we'll let it go someplace far)

 

[Dogfish]

What type of wire are you using? Is it chicken wire? You might want to upgrade to hardware cloth.

 

[bobbi-j]

Quote:
No - please don't let it go someplace else! Not only does it become someone else's problem, it creates all kinds of problems for the animal itself. It also spreads disease if the animal has rabies, distemper or somewhere else. And last but cerrtainly not least - it's illegal in most places. The best thing to do is kill it. I won't go into various methods here as I don't want to start yet another debate as to what's the best way to do that. I hope you are able to solve the problem.

 

[NurseELB]

If you catch it and don't want to dispatch it yourself, call your Dept of Natural Resources (or fish and game, whatever your locality calls it) and ask them for the number of a local nuisance trapper and they will come and take care of it for you.

Good Luck!

 

[PippyChicken]

As far as we know it hasn't come back yet...

 

[JP33]

If you catch one and can legally transplant it in a heavily wooded area away from civilization, this is what I hope you would do. This gives the animal a chance to live out its life. Why just kill it unnecessarily?

If you don't have the means to transport it, and it is legal to take its life, there are lots of people out there that eat coon.


...JP