Woke up this morning to 3 out of 5 chickens dead

[cmom]

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

When I put my chicks out into their coop, I always leave them in the coop for a few days. When I finally open their pop door they look out at first until one chick will get brave enough to come out then another and another but if they're not sure they will run back into their coop. I start off feeding them in the evenings and they will go into the coop to eat. They have a night light and a heat lamp if needed. The best way to train a bird is through it's stomach.

 

[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.
The primary reason is there is much more free food available. Look at dumpsters, dog and cat food and more chickens to eat.



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 not to touch when I was a kid.

What do you mean "locked up"? Like eat and drink in the coop? They have a coop on top of a run. Got it at TTS.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

@ChickenCanoe

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

I made sure to test My E wire so I would know what I was subjecting my birds to... since I use it to keep roosters in the stag pen and predator deterrent is just a bonus... It isn't harmful or long lasting... Kids will learn to respect the wire, same as any other animal.

Yes, skunks will also kill chickens... Even some squirrels can be chicken predators.

Regarding someone suggestion you don't drop off a predator too close... It's almost always illegal to relocate animals.. and it's a cruel, misguided action... possibly leaving behind young or dropping them off in another animals territory. If you are not prepared to dispatch, you should NOT be trapping.

I personally don't trap (except rats)... because dispatching one animal means another will be along to take its' place. Instead I shore up my defenses as needed.

Another possible predator deterrent... Motion activated sprinkler..
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009F1R0GC/?tag=backy-20

 

[cmom]

I have electric in my coops so my fence charger is electric. I had been renovating the coops. The fence charger is on the side on the coop on the right side of the picture. There is a cut-off switch under it. The main plug is in the barn which is behind the coops.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

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

Any member of the weasel family has a similar M O. They grab them by the head or neck, bite and hold on till the bird stops moving - then they go on to the next one.
I lost every bird in 5 buildings in 5 nights to mink and no visible marks. That was from mink. With 2 buildings of birds left, I bought a baby monitor. Mayhem in a coop woke me up and I ran out in time to save half a flock. I then closed off any gap over 1/2 inch. No more losses.

 

[cmom]

Regarding someone suggestion you don't drop off a predator too close... It's almost always illegal to relocate animals.. and it's a cruel, misguided action... possibly leaving behind young or dropping them off in another animals territory. If you are not prepared to dispatch, you should NOT be trapping.

I personally don't trap (except rats)... because dispatching one animal means another will be along to take its' place. Instead I shore up my defenses as needed.

Another possible predator deterrent... Motion activated sprinkler..
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009F1R0GC/?tag=backy-20

I agree with this. I do trap some. A while back I talked to a local game and wildlife officer. He said that as long as the predator wasn't endangered I could dispatch them. When they kill my birds I take care of them. My birds are well protected.
Not long ago I lost my precious Gladys to a fox and just prior I lost a couple of other birds. I hadn't lost a bird to a predator in several years. I do blame myself for loosing Gladys but not the other two because they were locked in their coop and pen. Somehow a gate was opened. When I discovered that two birds were missing and then found the piles of feathers, I wired the gates shut. I have a piece of wire on the inside on the gate that was opened and the gate opens out so the wire is always on the inside of the gate. Well the next morning I discovered the gate had been messed with again and somehow the wire that was on the inside of the gate was now on the outside of it. The predator had to put a good force to the gate to get it past the wire. I had been seeing a fox and coyote lurking around that coop and pen on a game camera. Unfortunately the nights in question it was foggy so I couldn't see the gate but the fox did get close enough to the camera that I saw it. I have been seeing it quite a bit

 

[ChickenCanoe]

What do you mean "locked up"? Like eat and drink in the coop? They have a coop on top of a run. Got it at TTS.

Yes, 24/7 - if you don't want to have to lock them up yourself every evening. Four or five days and they'll go in by themselves at night.
If you can't keep them in 4 straight days, the coop is probably too small.

 

[ehoneybee]

Yes, 24/7 - if you don't want to have to lock them up yourself every evening. Four or five days and they'll go in by themselves at night.
If you can't keep them in 4 straight days, the coop is probably too small.

That seems cruel but better that then dead, I suppose!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That seems cruel but better that then dead, I suppose!

It may be somewhat cruel but if you want to train them to have the habit to go in every night on their own, it is necessary.
If it is truly cruel, your building isn't large enough for the number of birds you have.

 

[ehoneybee]

It may be somewhat cruel but if you want to train them to have the habit to go in every night on their own, it is necessary.
If it is truly cruel, your building isn't large enough for the number of birds you have.

They're going in on their own now. We have them closed in the run under the coop and I removed the roosting bar in the run so they have to go in the coop. We just have to remember to close the door and latch it.