What would do this kind of damage? UPDATE POST #65!

[hokankai]

Something's got you figured out. I'm sorry for your loss. Move our camera over to that side near the hole as it WILL be back. You need to tighten up your run because now it knows how to get in. This is why a lot of people bury their skirt in the ground.

Is the pile of feathers outside of the coop? Are there feathers around the hole that make it look like it was pulled through? Was it taken during the day? If it was taken during the day I'd bet it was a coyote. That's exactly what I find when a coyote gets one of mine while they're free-ranging. I no longer free range unless we're home and working in the yard. They keep coming back for more.

I don't think it was the dog. Dogs usually make a big mess of feathers whereas coyotes leave a pile. At least that's my experience.

 

[Coop de Grille]

There was one pile of small feathers about 3 feet from the hole. I noticed another smaller pile of feathers when I went back out there to shore up where the holes were dug. Tomorrow my husband and I will go over every inch of the run and try to make it more secure. I covered the holes that were dug and put heavy concrete blocks on top. Hopefully that will deter what ever it is tonight until I can get out there tomorrow.

 

[bobelot]

Maybe is could be a weasel I have seen a weasel hiding under the boards and it was eyeing the chickens it came up twice but I haven't seen it since so it could be a weasle they are chicken hunters and that hole looks kinda small so it could of been a big weasle but in the picture it looked kinda big so it's just a guess

 

[joelman7]

set a trap like take all your chickens out of the hes getting in to and put some sort of sliding door and trap it in there and wait till day then bam youll see you predator its foolprof

were all in this together

 

[Phyrst]

Something got one of my girls I came home today and noticed on the opposite side of the pen something dug up under the fence and there is a pile of feathers nearby. I got my SD card out of the game cam (which is on the other side of the coop) to see if I can find out what did it. I found this picture of one of my girls OUTSIDE of the pen, with Odie. He doesn't seem to be paying any attention to her, which is how he is when my girls are out free ranging. An hour later the cam got another shot of my chicken in the same spot. I really don't think it's Odie, but something definitely dug under the fence.

I don't think Odie is the culprit. He doesn't look interested in the chickens at all. Dogs will kill chickens just to kill them - sometimes they're playing with the chickens and get too rough. Most of the time a dog won't even eat any part of the chicken it's killed. The critter that got one of your chickens was strong enough to carry and pull it out of the pen. Sounds like a fox or coon to me. Are your chickens out in the open like the picture all night? I'd try to get them inside some where they have some security. The critter will be back and will be even more determined since it's had a taste. You really need a trap also. One thing that seems certain to me, it's always one of the best that gets taken - the friendliest chicken or the best layer or even the prettiest, etc. I've only lost 2 chickens to predators but of course, they were my favs. Wouldn't you just know it?!! Is Odie a stray? Any way you can tie him up for a night so maybe he will help scare off the critter?That would also eliminate any doubt about his culpability.

 

[Coop de Grille]

The babies have stayed inside the brooder. I didn't realize they were roosting outside like that until I saw the game cam pics. Tonight is the first night they are inside the big coop (10x16 converted shed) with the rest of my chickens. They have been integrated for the last 2-3 weeks, but have always gone back into the brooder at night. The brooder is a 3x4 dog house with a heat lamp. I waited til it got dark and then went out with a flashlight and put each of them inside the coop on the lowest roosting bar. I have my security camera in there and I can see that they have stayed up on the roost. (My babies are growing up lol). The coop is closed up and I blocked off the entrance to the left side run. I have a run on each side, plus the baby pen area so they normally have run of both sides. The right side is much more secure, fully enclosed with hardware cloth. The left side is a chain link dog kennel around a wood frame and enclosed with just chicken wire on the top. The bottom 2 ft has hardware cloth and ground skirting.

Tomorrow my husband and I are going to secure the left side run as best as we can. I am getting more and more worried that my own dog might be the culprit. She was outside today when the chicken was out. She is a Border Collie mix and a hunter. If she saw a chicken out she would hunt it down and kill it for fun, without hesitation. My other dog loves the chickens and no way would he hurt them. Odie is my next door neighbors dog. He is an inside dog but when they are home he is out. I think they must let him out at 7pm each night because that is when he is regularly showing up on the game cam pics. He has been outside with me while my chickens have free ranged and has never bothered them.

This chicken that was taken was one of my good layers and a very friendly girl. She was named after one of my neighbors that lived across the street from me because she was nosy and always needed to know what I was up to. This chicken (and the three other like her) are the the ones always up my butt where ever I am, and in my face when I walk into the coop.

 

[cbenson6820]

i've had A LOT of good luck using snares but whatever it is is not very big because that is a small hole and i doubt a snare would work there. If your dog never spends a whole night inside why dont you just leave it outside all night? I would just put up electric tape around the base and the top of the coop and be done with it.

 

[Dynahoe Dave]

Where can I find a good "how to" on snares?

 

[bird sitter]

I'd move the chair away first. You don't want to give a critter an easy way to jump in. I'd say it's a small critter by the shape of the bent wire so you're probably talking about something like a skunk, possum or dog. Foxes and raccoons will usually dig a bit. Raccoons can climb real good. They're very persistent once they smell and locate food. They'll come back and try again. You could try several things to tighten up your pen - heavy timbers or landscaping timbers around the bottom and stapled to the wire. Cement blocks would be too heavy for a critter to move. Reinforce the wire around that portion of the pen with a smaller and heavier grade hardware cloth. More posts. Things like that. The more your dog patrols around the area, the better. Sometimes the dog smell will help deter predators. Step just outside the door at night and make a lot of noise! A humane trap is the best way to go but you may have to relocate what you catch. There's tips somewhere in this thread on what to bait a trap with. Hope it doesn't get your chickens, whatever it is!

I know this sounds crazy and I would never think they could do this, but a coon moved 4 huge cement blocks and a HUGE square flat cement block that were all stacked on top of each other..... The coon COMPLETELY MOVED THEM!

 

[CluckyCharms]

I'm going to ask what may seem like a silly question - but is there any way possible at all that your neighbor put his dog in his own yard for a week!? I'm not trying to sound mean and I'm sure Odie is a very nice dog, but having him out and about like this is causing problems with regard to identifying your predator. Dogs are extremely smart animals and Odie is still a suspect until proven otherwise (not innocent until proven guilty as is with humans). He could be acting uninterested during the daylight hours because he knows he can be seen (our dogs do it all the time with other things like socks and undies) and he knows these chickens belong to you and he knows you didn't buy them to feed him with. He could be waiting until the cover of night to enjoy. I'm not saying he is...but he could be.

It also could be a case of the actual culprit not going near your coop *because* Odie's butt is in the way and it doesn't wanna mess with him, so it waits until he leaves by which time your cam's at the snap limit or...he's one sneaky son of a bubblegum wrapper. Contrary to what I said prior - I think that adorable pooch is your chicken killer.

Dogs will often stay the heck out of the kitchen garbage while you're home because you have taught them not to and they know they get in deep crap when they don't....but when you're gone or during the night is another story. Pups often break rules when they think nobody is watching.

Is there no way to confine Odie until you can absolutely without a doubt, 100% verify that it's not him? I would think that would be step number one.

Logic tells me that since he is the *only* animal you have actually caught on your game cam...the reason might be painfully obvious.