What type of predator could have caused this? :(

[Willowspirit]

We own a young doberman who has a very high prey drive. She’s a pretty fine girl but she can’t resist locking into our chickens. She WANTS those chickens. One day she managed to squeeze out the door between us and high tailed it to the chicken yard. She wouldn’t come to either of us. It was terrifying! We managed to keep her distracted enough that she never caught a chicken but she came close. She was having almost the best time of her life. The only thing better in her tiny mind was catching those chickens. Dogs are terrible predators. I love them too, but they’re dogs.

 

[aart]

That doesn't look like any hardware cloth I've used.

It does look like larger than 1/2" holes.

the opening it tore through was hardware cloth that was bolted to the coop so it had to be something very strong to chew through it and then pull.

Strong fasteners do any good if not put thru the right place on the mesh. It looks to me like it was ripped loose from fasteners. Am betting fasteners were placed too close to edge of mesh.

 

[kellyhubb]

Have you tried using the poultry predator identifier? http://www.poultrydvm.com/predator-identifier.php

 

[shbouton]

Have you tried using the poultry predator identifier? http://www.poultrydvm.com/predator-identifier.php

What a cool website! Thanks!

 

[shbouton]

We own a young doberman who has a very high prey drive. She’s a pretty fine girl but she can’t resist locking into our chickens. She WANTS those chickens. One day she managed to squeeze out the door between us and high tailed it to the chicken yard. She wouldn’t come to either of us. It was terrifying! We managed to keep her distracted enough that she never caught a chicken but she came close. She was having almost the best time of her life. The only thing better in her tiny mind was catching those chickens. Dogs are terrible predators. I love them too, but they’re dogs.

That must have been so scary! I had a neighbor's dog break into my yard one time and chase one around. He caught it but only got a mouthful of feathers before I was able to chase him off. And you're right, it was terrifying! And I know exactly what you mean, there was pure glee in his demeanor.

 

[shbouton]

I want to reach out and thank everyone for their input because it did end up being the two dogs next door and I would not have investigated it any further had I not come here seeking advice. I was going to call animal control but decided that wasn't fair before I actually talked to the neighbor so I did just that. He identified the fur and said that they had escaped before the time that he usually kennels them at night. He said he and his son looked everywhere for them, searching all night and could not find any trace of them. He basically took ownership of all of it and offered to reimburse us for any damages incurred, offering to buy more chickens, even going so far as to say that he would take both of his dogs to the pound if that's what I wanted. Of course that is not what I want. He was VERY distraught, he is an animal lover himself. In this day and age of suing everybody for everything, the fact that he owned up to it was huge to me. My only request was that he try to make sure they don't get loose again and he assured me that he was already making changes to the way that he was containing them. He is in the process of reintroducing them into the house as the only reason they were outside was because his daughter has a newborn and they live with him.

I extended grace yesterday, as we are commanded to do as Christians, in the hopes that we can make this world a little bit of a gentler, kinder, more compassionate place. God bless ya'll and thanks again!

 

[shbouton]

My vote is also for those dogs you saw. They are the worst predators I've had to deal with. I've personally dealt with dogs ripping into my bird runs from above! Agree with @ChickenCanoe — dogs and mink/weasels are the only things that kill in high numbers for fun.

Thanks for your comment!

 

[shbouton]

It does look like larger than 1/2" holes.

Strong fasteners do any good if not put thru the right place on the mesh. It looks to me like it was ripped loose from fasteners. Am betting fasteners were placed too close to edge of mesh.

Actually the fasteners were still intact as was the hardware cloth they were holding.

 

[aart]

the fact that he owned up to it was huge to me.

It is indeed...Kudos to you both.

 

[woodmort]

Sorry for your loss, unfortunately as the posts have shown, we all have encountered this kind of thing--some cases more than once.

In the locking-the-barn-door-after=the-horse-was-stolen department: Next time you fasten in the hardware cloth, cover the edges and the fasteners with a framework of wood. I use a 1 X 2 " frame on top of mine. It makes it harder for an animal to get the edge of the cloth to rip it off. Also it doesn't look like you used 1/2" hardware cloth--the smaller squares also make it harder for animals to get a grip. Hopefully this will be the last time this will happen.