Woke up this morning to 3 out of 5 chickens dead

[cmom]

Since this picture was taken We replaced the siding with metal and added another coop on the end. These were the coops the owl was getting into before I put the netting up and the tarps over the open sides of the coops.

 

[AngieMaesChix]

Hmm maybe I could use it at night and then whenever I’m gone which isn’t very often other than a paddle on the river lol...my kids are grown aside from my 16 ur old and he lives with his father but I have nieces and a granddaughter...definitely for use at night would be nice ...big girls been out almost a week now and no issues even messed up and left treats/snack tray on straw for a night was so mad at myself like yeah just invite them to come nosing around ...haven’t had any signs of anything snooping around as of yet...I’m not as concerned for daytime I have two dogs chase anything if it’s in the yard they spend their days keeping every bird and squirrel at bay lol...I like those but they don’t

 

[cmom]

Not an option for us because kids.

You can turn the power off when the kids are outside. Most of the predation I have had was at night.

 

[cmom]

Wow I so wanna get some game cams so I can see what exactly does like to roam out property...I see lots of deer n coon tracks down on the river bank which we live right on...no signs of coyote yet but I know their out there...definitely have our share of eagles and hawks also possums and mink but haven’t seen any or tracks...good thing is alltracks are down at water haven’t seen any around coop or barn and it’s been raining and I been looking...just moved here in January first flocks and animals this year here...I love it I’m finally out in the sticks

We are rural on a dead end road. We rarely see predators during the day. I see them mostly at night on at least one of the cameras. When we do see predators during the day, it is mostly in the spring when they are looking for mates and hunting for their young. We also caught 2 two legged predator once on camera stealing.

 

[AngieMaesChix]

We live right on river and it’s from land out here some neighbors but not many and not too close closest is across road huge field can see house till everything blooms but small and can’t hear em ...corn gets planted this year so soon won’t be able see em...it is pretty country and I know their out there and have seen some signs...I just hope they keep closer to river and away from my livestock...think I’ve decided the Hotwire probably way to go...at least for nights...and I have get me few those game cams

 

[ehoneybee]

The electric wires won't hurt the birds. Especially in the spring when the predators are having their young, I have heard them when they have touched the wire and once they get zapped they don't try it again. You can always turn the power off when you want to.

I guess we could do that but I bet we'll just forget to turn it on before bed :/

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Our original flock always roosted in the coop but we got all new hens and they were used to roosting in a barn. I used to manually move them in every night but stopped doing thats months ago

Birds not familiar with your housing need to be locked in the coop for several days so they will habituate to roosting in the coop.

It is rural but also in town so we don't seem to have the usual predators that other more rural areas have. Well, I guess I'm wrong. It was all hawks all the time and now it's a whole new ball game.

There are normally many more predators in towns and cities per square mile than in wilderness areas.
Toronto is the raccoon capitol of the world.
Chicago is the coyote capitol.
The primary reason is there is much more free food available. Look at dumpsters, dog and cat food and more chickens to eat.

The dead hen has no marks on her that I can see. I'll know more once I move her out. The other one looks intact. She has some blood above her eye and coming from her mouth

Does a light go on when there's movement? The coyote is looking right at he camera! DH and I were discussing our next move and I suggested adding w motion light back there but he said it won't work in the long run because they'll figure out it's not a threat. I suspect whatever it is climbed up the side of the run and jumped on the mend as they were roosting on their coop. I bet it didn't even see there was netting there. Still don't know what it could be but has to he a flying or climbing animal (so not a fox or coyote). We also just found out that a skunk was found eating eggs when we were away on vacation a few weeks ago but the caretakers didn't tell us! If we had known that, we would've shored up the run :/. On the bright side, my friend has a few hens she is willing to part with and one of them looks like the one we lost and the other 2 look like some girls in our flock that died (one by hawk, one just died somehow). Still trying to figure out how the 2 hens left died. One had no marks on her at all, didn't even have feathers all over the run like the other 2) and the other looked like she had a superficial (but bloody) head wound, and had blood on her beak but no obvious lethal injuries. She finally succumbed to her injuries over night and was found dead this morning. Was hoping she'd rally :/

A fox can jump a 10' fence. A coyote can jump pretty high as well.
A raccoon can climb anything, even a sheer wall. They are one of the few animals that can descend a tree head first. On top of that, they can go through chicken wire like it's butter, let alone bird netting. Raccoons pulled the siding off of one of my buildings. They broke into my basement and killed all the chicks brooding down there.
However, none of those are your current problem. A coyote or fox would likely have taken a bird and left. A raccoon would have eaten quite a bit when it killed the bird/s.
Dead birds with few or no visible damage is from a mink or weasel.

Not an option for us because kids.

Kids learn to avoid electric fence just like predators do. I instantly learned not to touch when I was a kid.

 

[cmom]

I guess we could do that but I bet we'll just forget to turn it on before bed :/

I agree the kids will learn quickly to not touch the wire when they get a shock. You can also put it on a timer.

 

[ehoneybee]

I agree the kids will learn quickly to not touch the wire when they get a shock. You can also put it on a timer.

Oh good idea! We know people that use solar powered ones. Thinking of going that route.

 

[ehoneybee]

Birds not familiar with your housing need to be locked in the coop for several days so they will habituate to roosting in the coop.


There are normally many more predators in towns and cities per square mile than in wilderness areas.
Toronto is the raccoon capitol of the world.
Chicago is the coyote capitol.



A fox can jump a 10' fence. A coyote can jump pretty high as well.
A raccoon can climb anything, even a sheer wall. They are one of the few animals that can descend a tree head first. On top of that, they can go through chicken wire like it's butter, let alone bird netting. Raccoons pulled the siding off of one of my buildings. They broke into my basement and killed all the chicks brooding down there.
However, none of those are your current problem. A coyote or fox would likely have taken a bird and left. A raccoon would have eaten quite a bit when it killed the bird/s.
Dead birds with few or no visible damage is from a mink or weasel.


Kids learn to avoid electric fence just like predators do. I instantly learned that when I was a kid.

So how do they kill them? What about Fisher cat? They are in this area, as well.