What pulled my Chick out of the growout pen. Warnining: graphic.

[winterwolf4]

I'm so sorry. That sounds awful.

If nothing else, can you rebuild the grow out pen with hardware cloth to make it a little bit stronger for next time?

I was thinking of putting up 3 walls of wood and a wood floor and then having the door with chicken wire or hardware cloth.


I have some Lavender Ameracauanas to put in there in about a month so I really don't want them to die. They are expensive birds.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

I was thinking of putting up 3 walls of wood and a wood floor and then having the door with chicken wire or hardware cloth.


I have some Lavender Ameracauanas to put in there in about a month so I really don't want them to die. They are expensive birds.

Hardware cloth would be a much better choice over chicken wire. Chicken wire keeps chickens in. Hardware cloth keeps predators out.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Sounds like raccoon, and it'll keep coming back. I knew someone who was having the same exact thing happening to them, but the predator was taking more. It was very graphic and the predator didn't stop until every bird was dead. (It took the predator only a few nights to wipe out the flock, and that's with outside dogs hooked on the hill above.)

A predator proof coop would be best. Hardwire cloth all around and buried if you can't get a coop setup. The predator will keep coming back, and with it breeding season, it'll train it's young to hunt your area when they get older.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Hardware cloth would be a much better choice over chicken wire. Chicken wire keeps chickens in. Hardware cloth keeps predators out.

I second, third, and fourth this ^^^. I am so very sorry for your losses.

Chicken wire is far too easy to tear through for a determined critter. And if a raccoon can get a paw through it, they'll snag a chick or chicken and pull them back through the fence. They can't do that with hardware cloth.

I have a temporary coop inside of a temporary pen, currently housing 12 of my 11-week old cockerels. The upper half (over 4') is chicken wire, with chain link fence below. Keeps the birds inside the pen, but that's all. The poor things all cluster on top of their coop each night, hoping I'll let them sleep there. But no, I place each one, one by one, into their little coop and lock the door. The little coop openings are covered in hardware cloth. This is the only way I can sleep at night, knowing nothing can get to them. (Except bears, but we don't have bears, so... peaceful zzzzzzz's for me and them.)

 

[winterwolf4]

We updated out growout pen by building a frame for a cage and putting it in the coop. We figured out that the culprit might have been a ground squirrel since that was what was living under our chicken coop.

 

[user651618]

I've seen a hawk pull one out of regular chicken wire in daylight as well.