Do porcupines eat chickens? help asap

[Jennyhaschicks]

Please.

We have a porcupine in our live trap right now. We want to know what to do with it. Does it eat live chicken? Something has been taking a couple of my chickens here and there.
If they do eat chickens then we probably can't release it.

eta I just did some quick research. They say they won't eat meat. There was hamburg in the trap though? Beats me.

 

[patandchickens]

I sincerely doubt it. They eat plants, esp. tree bark and twigs.

http://www.borealforest.org/zoo/porcpine.htm
http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/eretdors.htm

The only thing other than a plant htat your porcupine is likely to threaten would be an axe or shovel handle

(they sometimes chew them for the salt).

Good luck gettin' whatever *is* eating your chickens,

Pat

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Quote:
If the hamb. was gone then you have your answer...

 

[mistylady]

They might waddle over your eggs and break them. Or dig under your fence and make a path something mean could go in. I'd take him for a ride and set him free!

 

[spook]

Porcupines may eat the coop before they ate an animal. Especially if there is salt around the wood. We had a "butter board" its what you knead the butter to remove moisture and add salt. It was nothing important, yet it was eaten!!! I have heard of them eating the walls from a very old farm house! I am NOT kidding- buggers! If I hadn't seen it, I never would have believed it! I wouldn't encourage porcupines around my home, they do not shoot quills, but if a chicken gets curious, she may be the next critter to pull quills from! LOL.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

Yes, please be very careful when you release it that you are not "quilled." Ouch!

 

[Jennyhaschicks]

My dh released him.
Dh also said there was a old apple core in the trap from way back when. Maybe that is what attracted him?? The meat was gone too though. Strange.
I don't know. Would a porcupine even be fast enough to get a chicken? They move rather slowly right?

 

[jjthink]

Porcupines are herbivores - they eat plants.
Thanks for releasing him!
JJ

 

[Jennyhaschicks]

Quote:
That is what we thought they ate. The part that threw us off was that he ate the meat in the trap.
Maybe he was tired and just ate it?

I mean we had him up during the daytime.

 

[silkiechicken]

Well, he was in a trap all night and so if they got hungry enough, might have choked down the non veggie fare in the cage. Or rats/mice could have eaten it.