What might have killed my chickens?

[hennylover]

WOW, THAT'S PERFECT,WHERE CAN I GET THAT AND HOW MUCH? THANK YOU

 

[TinyBirds]

Large pet gazebo $275 amazon or hayneedle.com if have a 10% off coupon. Fencerwire.com for the coated hardware cloth, expensive yes but worth every penny. Hard to cut though so i use 24" height for lining inside top, go 4 lengths crossing top middle, cut 9 ft sections off. Then small pieces to cover gaps. Then around outside just wrap around and zip tie.

 

[hennylover]

Great, thank you!

 

[MillersFarm]

I lost 6 of my pullets today and I'm wondering what might have gotten my chickens They don't free range, just a coop and run. The last day or two I was wondering why my chickens food was all knocked out of their feeders (which I hang off the ground inside the coop.) the chickens seemed fine otherwise, so I didn't spend too much time worrying about it. I had just talked to my husband about needing to reinforce all the chicken wire on my run soon, just in case, although there was no wholes. I went down to my chickens this afternoon and found one walking around in the field! Something ripped open the chicken wire on my run making about an 18x18 size whole and my other pullets missing! I have 6 older chickens and they are all ok. There's no injurys to any of them and there's no blood at all. There are feathers inside and around the coop but I see no other animal scatt or tracks. I've searched the field and don't see any chicken remains or feathers. Then I got a msg my neighbor found one of the pullets walking around unharmed in her yard tonight! So 2 out of my 8 have been found. We have coyotes, fox, raccoons, and have heard of mountain lion and bear but never seen them. I'm not sure characteristics of each animal and how they kill so wondering if any of you have insight on what it might be?

I lost 6 of my pullets today and I'm wondering what might have gotten my chickens They don't free range, just a coop and run. The last day or two I was wondering why my chickens food was all knocked out of their feeders (which I hang off the ground inside the coop.) the chickens seemed fine otherwise, so I didn't spend too much time worrying about it. I had just talked to my husband about needing to reinforce all the chicken wire on my run soon, just in case, although there was no wholes. I went down to my chickens this afternoon and found one walking around in the field! Something ripped open the chicken wire on my run making about an 18x18 size whole and my other pullets missing! I have 6 older chickens and they are all ok. There's no injurys to any of them and there's no blood at all. There are feathers inside and around the coop but I see no other animal scatt or tracks. I've searched the field and don't see any chicken remains or feathers. Then I got a msg my neighbor found one of the pullets walking around unharmed in her yard tonight! So 2 out of my 8 have been found. We have coyotes, fox, raccoons, and have heard of mountain lion and bear but never seen them. I'm not sure characteristics of each animal and how they kill so wondering if any of you have insight on what it might be?

I've been raising chickens my whole life and have had many problems, It most defiantly was not a raccoon, Raccoons like to make messes and leave the bodies where they killed them, And so if there where no bodies thats making me think its a fox attack, Im a newbie hunter but i know alot about these animals, Foxes are basically cats except bigger, They can squeeze through small places and will even dig holes into your run for i have had that happen to me before, And foxes can be greedy so they will take more of your chickens. I dont think a coyote is your problem. How big is the hole? And where there feathers all over your run? If i were you i'd set up some traps around your coop, Duke coil spring traps will catch coyotes, Foxes, And bobcats if you have those around where you live. I'd buy some chicken breast since thats what there after for bait. BUT if you can not kill it then do NOT buy coil traps. If you instead want to let it go else where just get a large raccoon/fox cage trap and cover it in brush/grass. I hope this helps

 

[bbecca]

First off, chicken wire is designed to keep chickens in, but not keep predators out. Hardware cloth no larger than 1/2" should surround the entire coop & run. No gaps anywhere larger than 1/2".

Obviously, I can't be sure, but it sounds like a coyote took your pullets. If it was a coyote, it will likely return so you need to reinforce your coop & run ASAP with hardware cloth as above.

ETA: The hardware cloth also needs to be buried at least 1 1/2' deep around the coop & run to prevent digging predators from getting in.

Thank you for the tips, your guess was right, coyote! My son found scatt nearby and today my dog went crazy and ran out to the coop and my son yelled that he saw a coyote. By the time I looked it was gone but another whole was started last night on other side of my coop. I worked on the coop all day today and hope my chickens will be safe and sound now.

 

[bbecca]

I've been raising chickens my whole life and have had many problems, It most defiantly was not a raccoon, Raccoons like to make messes and leave the bodies where they killed them, And so if there where no bodies thats making me think its a fox attack, Im a newbie hunter but i know alot about these animals, Foxes are basically cats except bigger, They can squeeze through small places and will even dig holes into your run for i have had that happen to me before, And foxes can be greedy so they will take more of your chickens. I dont think a coyote is your problem. How big is the hole? And where there feathers all over your run? If i were you i'd set up some traps around your coop, Duke coil spring traps will catch coyotes, Foxes, And bobcats if you have those around where you live. I'd buy some chicken breast since thats what there after for bait. BUT if you can not kill it then do NOT buy coil traps. If you instead want to let it go else where just get a large raccoon/fox cage trap and cover it in brush/grass. I hope this helps

Thank you for the helpful information. I just responded to someone else before reading yours. I was thinking it was a coyote cause we found scat nearby and my son thought he saw one today run by the coop. But he is young and could've mistaken it for a fox. I did not see it. There were feathers all around the coop, run and outside. No blood. No bodies. The whole was prob about 16-18" around. We have all of the predators you listed in our area so I will look into those traps. I have little kids and don't really wanna take a chance of one coming back again for more. Thanks

 

[barred2rock]

Thank you for the tips, your guess was right, coyote! My son found scatt nearby and today my dog went crazy and ran out to the coop and my son yelled that he saw a coyote. By the time I looked it was gone but another whole was started last night on other side of my coop. I worked on the coop all day today and hope my chickens will be safe and sound now.

Perhaps you could get a baby monitor, so when it does show up you can hear it, get up & run it off.

 

[barred2rock]

Thank you for the helpful information. I just responded to someone else before reading yours. I was thinking it was a coyote cause we found scat nearby and my son thought he saw one today run by the coop. But he is young and could've mistaken it for a fox. I did not see it. There were feathers all around the coop, run and outside. No blood. No bodies. The whole was prob about 16-18" around. We have all of the predators you listed in our area so I will look into those traps. I have little kids and don't really wanna take a chance of one coming back again for more. Thanks

My guess was due to the size of the hole, I don't think a fox would make such a large hole. Maybe you can ask your son how big the animal he saw was. Foxes are pretty small compared to coyotes.

 

[barred2rock]

Here's an image to compare sizes:

 

[AB Gamebird Farmer]

Snares also work very well, and are fairly inexpensive. Set a few at coyote height perpendicular to your wire to catch em' while they pace around your coop. Brass snare wire is available at walmart, but the zip-tie-style cable snares work best although they cost more. might want to consider how expensive your neighbours dog is.....

I am trying a something totally differnent to prevent predators from killing my birds. I have started raising rabbits and releasing them around my pheasant aviary in hopes that the predators eat them instead of my birds.

I have decided to breed my rabbits so as to produce only chestnut agouti fur colour. translation, I want them to look like wild rabbits. You might be wondering why? Because I'm running a gamebird farm, not a dang pet store! My rabbits aren't gonna be cute! They are gonna be Bad a... Bum.