Wiped Out

[bobbi-j]

Thanks everyone for the responses. Some really great pointers on here. I did try to contain all the shock and surprise from my son. I didn't let him see the chickens all eaten up either. We have all agreed to give it a go again. The coop was indeed closed, and there were no holes in the actual fencing, just small dig spots under. I guess I didn't even think about it being a coon. We are certainly going to make some adjustments to the coop. We'll keep everyone posted.

Thanks again.
-Eddie

Yeah, at 3, it would have been a bit much for him to comprehend. I'm glad you're going to try again.

 

[EddieLee]

Proud to announce we have re-stocked our back yard flock. We did some predator proofing on the pen/run, but we also completely secured the coop. bought some chain to secure across thethree openings we have. With the added costs, I figured it only made since to increase the flock size formore production.Good business sense, right? (or a good excuse to get more birds). So now we have 7 total: 2 speckled sussex, 2 gold wyandottes, 2 brown leghorns, and 1 easter egger. Thanks again to everyone for the good advice. We went out and got a live trap and on day three caught a young coon. That same morning we saw a mom and two other coons crossing the street about 30 yards from our house. Likely our culprits.

 

[bobbi-j]

Good for you for re-stocking your flock! Chicken-keeping is an ongoing learning experience. I hope you keep trapping those coons and are killing them instead of relocating them (in other words, dumping them off to become someone else's problem).

 

[abChicken]

Good for you for re-stocking your flock! Chicken-keeping is an ongoing learning experience. I hope you keep trapping those coons and are killing them instead of relocating them (in other words, dumping them off to become someone else's problem).

Agree I would never relocate

 

[EddieLee]

The curse continues. We went to the Maryland Poutry swap back in September and got 7 new hens. I so much wish I had read the article on adding to a new flock (which I'm sure also goes for making a new flock from adult birds). Of the 7 hens we got, 3 died. I couldn't pinpoint the problem until it was too late. I think we had coccidiosis (spelling?). Yesterday a hawk swooped in and took one. And of the final three, turns out two of them are roosters.... so... we're having some hard luck. We went ahead and spent the money and built a much improved coop. Just today I ordered poultry netting to put over the top of the run to keep the hawk out. We have been seeing this thing all fall/winter. Up until yesterday the chickens have done a great job of covering up and getting out of the open. Not sure exactly what happened with this particular attack. We didn't witness it, just found the carnage.

So we have to get rid of one of our roosters. No way we can get away with having two roos in a subdivision in the middle of town. That puts us, once again, at having to basically start over, with the exception of our two remaining birds.... wish us luck....

any advice is obviosuly greatly appreciated.

 

[littleoak]

roosters can be sold or given away online. Also any swap meet or poultry auction will take roosters. Look on the internet for online auctions or swaps or local poultry auctions in your area. You might meet some new people too.

 

[EddieLee]

Do you have any tips about websites were announcements are posted for poultry/livestock auctions. I try to find stuff, but in my area (DC metro area) its really hard to come by. Craigslist is my most reliable source, and its not very reliable.