What Killed my chickens and rabbits

[theBRINK]

I'm sure most who are on this part of the forum have had the same exact heart sinking feeling as you walk up to your coop to see an explosion of feathers and chicken carcasses laying about.

This morning I went out to do my daily rounds and to my horror my hens were dead! there were feathers everywhere, strone about the yard. The first hen I came to was torn to pieces with most of her missing. The others (7 out of 10 total) were all dead in the coop. Only a few had any noticeable wounds and the others had no blood and no visible wounds. As I walked through the mayhem towards my Rabbit colony, I had dead rabbits laying in their 20x4 pen. There were 13 dead rabbits out of the 16 that I had total. Some were missing, but most had what looked to be like a single bite mark with four or six puncture wounds on their sides or back. I had six bunnies in one side of a two hole cage about 4 feet off the ground and one mature male in the other hole. There were 3 dead bunnies sill in the cage and one that escaped the massacre. The other two were gone along with the adult buck.

I originally suspected a dog of some sort, until I saw the dead rabbits in the raised cages. The doors were opened because the rabbits won't jump out and I have never had a problem in the year I've been raising them. The hole on the cage is only 18 square inches. So something must've gotten into the cage and did the deed. I found a pile of what looked to be feces about the 5 inches in diameter that I couldn't distinguish as any particular animal type. This was in the rabbit pen which has 4 foot high walls and cement floor. It looked like the contents of what was in the rabbits' stomachs.

Does anyone have a similar incident or know what this could be.. I am so heart broken and discouraged right now. Thanks for any help.

 

[LallyBrochFarm]

That is horrible! I am so sorry for your loss!!!

From what you are describing, it sounds like it could be an ermine or weasel, raccoon, or fox. With the carnage you have discribed, I would think weasel as a likely culprit. They are known to kill everything in coop and come back to feed later. The animals you found dead from multiple puncture wounds sounds just like them.

 

[chickortreat]

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[theBRINK]

Thanks for the support and opinions... I've been feeling sick all day and it's been hard to work. Anyway, only three of the hens in the coop escaped and all the roosters (which were roosting in the rafters in my barn) were left. There were 4 week old chicks that were spared except for one. I have never seen a weasel near my home and have had my flock and rabbits for nearly a year with zero problems except one incident with a neighbor's dog in the day time. Are there ways to figure out what was the culprit? Is there anyone that might be able to run tests on the poop that I found? Thanks again for the support.

 

[Doubleyolker]

I am so sorry for your loss. I wonder if you sat up tonight and waited to see if the "criminal" came back tonight for a second helping?

I once lost some free rangers to a dog. Coming over our hill and down to the barn area was covered in white feathers everywhere. I didn't want to even get out of my car....

Good luck in catching what ever it is.

 

[theBRINK]

I may try to stake out my barn and see if the culprit comes up. From my research, I am more confused than ever.. What sort of malicious animal would kill everything? It just isn't right! I will keep you posted

 

[dainerra]

I would still vote for dog/pack of dogs. As for the rabbits in the hutch, dogs will attack at the bottom of the cage until the rabbits panic and jump out. Then they will kill them on the ground.

 

[theBRINK]

i thought that too, but there were dead rabbits that were still in their cages. Also, wouldn't a pack of dogs be noisy? I am a light sleeper and would think I'd hear the commotion of barking. Another thing that discourages me from that idea is that there is no history of any packs of dogs in my neighborhood. I live on the MS gulf coast and have no real wild dog problems in my area.

I checked my barn and coop throughout the night and had no signs of any predators.

 

[leadwolf1]

After thinking about this thread for a good few hours, I'm thinking it's a mother raccoon and her kits. She brought them out to teach hunting skills and unfortunately, your animals were their targets. Little dogs could have gotten into the coops but, it just seems to me to be the work of a raccoon. It's the right time of year for this to happen. I'm so sorry for all your losses

 

[dainerra]

i thought that too, but there were dead rabbits that were still in their cages. Also, wouldn't a pack of dogs be noisy? I am a light sleeper and would think I'd hear the commotion of barking. Another thing that discourages me from that idea is that there is no history of any packs of dogs in my neighborhood. I live on the MS gulf coast and have no real wild dog problems in my area.

I checked my barn and coop throughout the night and had no signs of any predators.

I agree that coons could also be a problem. were the rabbits in the cages torn apart? if not, could have been heart attacks. Rabbits die pretty easily from fear

No, not necessarily noisy. Some dogs are barkers, others aren't. Remember, to dogs it's a game. To them, it's no different than chasing a ball or pouncing on a stuffed animal. With dogs, it's pets that are the biggest problem, not "wild" dogs