What Type of Predator? And Prevention...

[hawkeyext]

Hello,

I know these photos are not great, but can anyone tell what type of predator this is?

We believe it may be a skunk due to a slight smell in the coops. They are mostly neck injuries, and we saw something that looked either like a racoon or skunk prints. It was too blurry due to rain. There is one deceased chicken in nesting box along with a piece of another chicken. Possibly part of the injured chicken's neck in the photo attached.

Other than making sure the field is fenced in securely, any other tips to prevent this from happening?

 

[WindingRoad]

Hello,

I know these photos are not great, but can anyone tell what type of predator this is?

We believe it may be a skunk due to a slight smell in the coops. They are mostly neck injuries, and we saw something that looked either like a racoon or skunk prints. It was too blurry due to rain. There is one deceased chicken in nesting box along with a piece of another chicken. Possibly part of the injured chicken's neck in the photo attached.

Other than making sure the field is fenced in securely, any other tips to prevent this from happening?

Electric fence that might not be a option right now. No holes bigger than 1/2". Fort Knox hen house. Hard to do this time of year.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

I am so sorry for your loss!

 

[Brahmachicken240]

Sorry for your loss

 

[Eleanor C]

I am sorry about your hens! My vote is on skunk or weasel. Make sure your coop is completely secure and try to make sure predators can't dig into your coop. Also I suggest checking to make sure nothing is living in your coop such as a small hole in the ground or something like that.

 

[Stephine]

1/2 inch hardware cloth over every opening to the coop. And lock them up after they go to roost. For the daytime: electric netting fencing, farm dog that will go after any intruding critters and leave chickens alone, otherwise a secure pen (no openings big enough to let a mouse through). If it was a weasel, they can get through small openings...
Good Luck!

 

[Eggcessive]

Weasels can get through chicken wire or a hole the size of a quarter. They go for the neck, and may just leave the chickens’ bodies. I would secure the coop and windows with 1/2 inch hardware cloth fencing. If you can get the chickens into a secure place for tonight, that would be best, since the predator may return tonight. Foxes and raccoons are pretty adept at getting into coops as well. Look around your coop door openings for anything larger than 1/2 and fix it. Here is a similar thread where the predator came back 3 nights in a row, and got over the top of the door where there was a gap, and fur was stuck on the wood:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/it-struck-again-last-night.1289230/

 

[SoJoChickens]

If the tracks were small I would guess weasel. If they were larger (about the size of a large cat) then I would say raccoon - especially if the crop was eaten. Sorry for your loss!

 

[hawkeyext]

Thank you all for your suggestions. We'll be scouting the coop and fence-line today. We have 200 hens so wrangling them all in every night is not doable. Believe it or not, despite having enough room in the coop about 50 of them prefer to sleep outside. Not sure how they'd like tonight's single digit temp though...

 

[jeepgrrl]

Hi hawkeyext! I'm sorry to hear of your predator issues. While I have been fortunate to keep the terrestrial predators at bay (so far), its the aerial predators that cause me grief. I think you will get more responses to your inquiry if your post is moved to the Predator and Pest forum. Maybe one of the mods can move it for you?