Neighbors had a chicken massacre

[catjac1975]

I'm so glad that we close our chickens in a chicken barn at night. All of my neighbors chickens were killed last night. The predator bit their heads off. They are theorizing that it was a fisher cat. They were enclosed in a fenced coop. That was not enough. Boy, I will certainly not for get to lock mine up! I'm sure their 2 little boys are heart broken.

 

[MontyJ]

That's a shame to hear. Like you, we are always careful to lock the chickens up tight every night. We have too many predators to risk even one night.

 

[dewdropsinwv]

I'd be heart broken if even one of my chickens got killed. Speaking of, it's time to lock them up. I have 6 or 7 laying now.

 

[Nyboy]

Your poor neighbors to find that in the morning, I had it happen. Fisher are supose to be one tough worry. Good Luck

 

[baymule]

I am always amazed at the people who get chickens and then get sideswiped by a predator. Although I feel really sorry for the situation, I can't help but think, how stupid can people get. You buy chickens and basically you are putting out a chicken buffet for every predator and neighbor's chicken killing dog within 20 miles. Sure enough, all the chickens get killed and the people are heart broken. Really.

I know I sound real unkind right now, but to have an animal and not provide for it just irritates me. Chickens don't have sharp teeth so they can bite back, they can't run fast, most can't even fly very good, they are blind at night and are terrorized when a predator strikes. I know things happen, even when we try our best and cross the T's and dot all the i's. But to have chickens in a fence, not locked in a safe coop is just shouting SUPPER!!! to a predator.

You might kindly point them to the predator and coop forums on BYC so they can learn to build a better, safer coop and run. Poor kids. poor birds.

 

[catjac1975]

I rather agree. They had a fence roof and probably thought that was enough. It is not the first neighborhood massacre. Supposedly the other was when the predator unlocked the door. Raccoons can unlock a simple latch and are vicious killers. Of course I doubt that story. This will make certain I do not every forget to close up my birds.

I am always amazed at the people who get chickens and then get sideswiped by a predator. Although I feel really sorry for the situation, I can't help but think, how stupid can people get. You buy chickens and basically you are putting out a chicken buffet for every predator and neighbor's chicken killing dog within 20 miles. Sure enough, all the chickens get killed and the people are heart broken. Really.

I know I sound real unkind right now, but to have an animal and not provide for it just irritates me. Chickens don't have sharp teeth so they can bite back, they can't run fast, most can't even fly very good, they are blind at night and are terrorized when a predator strikes. I know things happen, even when we try our best and cross the T's and dot all the i's. But to have chickens in a fence, not locked in a safe coop is just shouting SUPPER!!! to a predator.

You might kindly point them to the predator and coop forums on BYC so they can learn to build a better, safer coop and run. Poor kids. poor birds.

 

[Just-Moxie]

Hmm...good topic. We have chickens. 14 in the big kids pen, and 6 chicks in the broody chicken tractor. We lock the big kids in at night, behind padlocks on both doors. But that is not to say something might not get in. So far, we have had neighborhood dogs, a resident fox, a roadkill possum and raccoon, snakes, and the ones flying over head of course. The neighborhood dogs have attacked my flock 3x I think in the past 2 years we ahve had them. They were the OEGB flock though, which had no clipped wings. They were able to escape for the most part. The initial attack was when we were culling the 7 cockerels that sexually matured all at once. I didn't lock them up that night, only putting them in 18"x18" block cages outside of the chicken tractor. The dogs came in at 4am that Saturday morning and obliterated them. We knew when it happened, because we had them in the front yard right outside the door. But it was too dark to see at that time.

We live. We learn.

So now, we have LF..Plymouth Rocks, an Easter Egger, 1 game hen left..and the new kids. 5 OEGB mixes-16 weeks, and 7 PR/PR/EE chicks....4 weeks.
The chicken tractor is Fort Knox, large dog tested. Fox tested. And it pretty secure. But things could get into the large coop and pen. Mostly animals that could climb, pry or dig. The neighborhood dogs are too big to bother to be successful, and would give up. But the fox has to feed babies usually.
So, every day, I check the perimeter of the big pen, and the tin shed coop. Checking for any predative activities. Clawing, digging, smells, wall damage, etc. We ahve the 30'x32' square pen covered with bird netting. But that is mainly to keep our games inside. The LF grow too heavy to attempt escape, but I have seen the roos smack the netting also.

I know when the fox visits. Foxes leave a faint skunk musk scent. Of course, the big dogs leave their big dog piles. But they have learned to not show themselves too often, after being shot at a time or two.

 

[journey11]

I've had 2 chicken massacres over the years, both by dogs. The big coop/little barn has been too hard for me to secure from opossums, coons, snakes...so we've switched to a tractor and are working on a small, portable coop, fortified with welded wire under the chicken wire. I'm planning on fencing my whole property eventually, because there is nothing happier than a free-range chicken.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How to post pictures/avatar
http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=26838

My parents totally free-ranged their chickens. Theyd go years without a predator attack, but then a fox or dog would find them and have to be dealt with. They didnt even lock them up at night and some slept in trees, even in the dead of winter, down below zero F. But that was a different place and a different time.

I tried free-ranging here but securely locking them up at night. That worked pretty well for three years. I lost two chickens in the middle of the day, I think foxes for both. I could live with two every three years. When one disappeared, Id leave them all locked in the run during the day for a month so the fox would learn there was not a free meal just waiting for her. It seemed to work.

But then someone dropped a pair of big dogs off in the country for the good life. Here the good life for abandoned dogs means the coyotes eat them alive, they starve to death and coyotes eat them, or someone shoots them when they do damage, drag them out away from everything so the coyotes can eat them. Thats if the vultures dont find them first. Can you tell I dont like irresponsible people dropping dogs off out here? When I notice dogs have been dropped off before they do damage I have caught them and taken them to the pound. Its free to drop them off. But after they have learned to kill chickens, calves, sheep, goats, etc., the coyotes get them.

That happened to me twice in just a few months so I got electric netting to keep the chickens in during the day so they can get some grass, weeds, and bugs. Every time I think its been long enough and Im ready to try free ranging again, I see some strange dogs around. I guess Im stuck with that electric netting and the higher feed bills that brings since they cant forage nearly as well.

Can you imagine how satisfying it is to see a dog eying the chickens and then they sniff that electric netting? They dont come back.

When I see something has been prowling around I get out the trap. My total this year is four raccoons and three possums. I saw a groundhog outside my garden fence about a week and a half ago and set the trap. Havent seen any signs the groundhog has been back but that was my fourth raccoon. That trap is still set though. My next batch of corn is almost ready.

 

[Just-Moxie]

Yeah...we are planning on doing the same. Fencing in half of our acre. But that isn't planned for anytime soon. We have too many other irons in too many other fires at the moment.