From 20 to 16

[Yeppers]

do you have any dogs? could be a dog.

I do but I doubt it is our Izzy. I was able to track feathers back into the timber where she never goes. Very very unlikely. Nice thought though.

 

[gtaus]

I cannot and will not ever understand people who do not take any kind of animal stewardship seriously. There’s a special place for them. This is a subject that I could easily rant on forever. I have no tolerance for this special kind of idiot.

I suppose some people should have other hobbies, like stamp collecting. Taking care of animals is not for everyone. They might be good people but just in a poor choice of activity for their skills or interests.

 

[ValerieJ]

I suppose some people should have other hobbies, like stamp collecting. Taking care of animals is not for everyone. They might be good people but just in a poor choice of activity for their skills or interests.

I'm surrounded by people who don't think of chickens as pets. They all think I'm a crazy chicken lady. They don't care for their cats much either. One neighbor moved and left 3 behind. I now feed them behind my shed, because my dog and other two cats will not accept them in their territory at all. They had their territories all marked out when they lived next door, so coming over here is not an option. I bought them a bed, and set out food and water every day. I go out there in the morning and evening and just sit with them for a while. My animals have learned to leave me alone with them there.

Then the raccoons started coming in to eat their food, so I bought a trap. But, then I decided against it because I might trap a cat instead. I mentioned that to a neighbor and she said, "Ah, they'll live". Ugh. I said it's not about whether they will live, but about not terrorizing them. I'd rather spoil them. She rolled her eyes and said "Of course you would." LOL I'm a misfit around here. In the end I just decided to pick up the food every night and bring it out again in the morning.

Well, that was a long winded usurpation of someone else's thread. Sorry.

 

[gtaus]

Went out around dusk to close up the coop yesterday and was doing my daily count and could only count 16 out of 20. …
I predict a coyote or coyotes. … Probably should build a tall fence as a buffer at the timberline. Chickens won’t be going out for a wile I’m afraid. Too bad, they LOVE being out.

I have seen some people putting up an infrared detector flood light(s) around their coops to automatically detect movement around the fencing, turn on the light(s), and hopefully scare away the predator.

 

[aart]

I often wonder how many times we pass on our human emotions to animals that may or may not feel any way the same as we do.

Many do it constantly. Anthropomorphism is not productive or healthy (or logical) for the animals or the humans.

I have seen some people putting up an infrared detector flood light(s) around their coops to automatically detect movement around the fencing, turn on the light(s), and hopefully scare away the predator.

Might work until they get used to it, which won't take long.

The very same GSD that killed my EE peed on the fence one fine morning and got a jolt to his man parts. I was tickled pink when I learned of this wonder bit of justice.

Get it on video?

 

[Yeppers]

I have seen some people putting up an infrared detector flood light(s) around their coops to automatically detect movement around the fencing, turn on the light(s), and hopefully scare away the predator.

My chickens were taken in broad daylight.

 

[gtaus]

My chickens were taken in broad daylight.

Eagles and hawks are my main concern during daytime. As well as neighborhood dogs. The only fox I see around here hunt at night, as do most other wild predators. I'd really be worried if my chickens were taken during the day and I did not know why. My chicken run fencing is predator resistant, but not predator proof. Hope you find out what happened so you take steps to prevent the next attack. Best wishes.

 

[Yeppers]

Eagles and hawks are my main concern during daytime. As well as neighborhood dogs. The only fox I see around here hunt at night, as do most other wild predators. I'd really be worried if my chickens were taken during the day and I did not know why. My chicken run fencing is predator resistant, but not predator proof. Hope you find out what happened so you take steps to prevent the next attack. Best wishes.

I don’t suspect a hawk. There are no predator birds that fly around us during the the day. Besides, the Silkies are heavy shedders, and I found feathers 30 to 40 paces out in the timber. A land predator took them. The weird thing is that I cannot find a single feather of the Buff Orpington or the Astrolorp rooster. It’s looks like there wasn’t even a struggle, which seams unlikely but I can’t find remnants of them anywhere.

 

[gtaus]

It’s looks like there wasn’t even a struggle, which seams unlikely but I can’t find remnants of them anywhere

Alien abduction?

 

[cmom]

I just lost 21 birds. A Red Tail hawk did get into a pen and I think I found the spot and repaired it in the netting that covers the pens. I'm not totally sure another predator didn't get in but I couldn't find a breach and it an inside pen with other pens on each side. I found a little place next to a gate but it didn't appear anything could get in there and there is electric wire. This happened in one day while I went for a Dr. appt. and to do some errands. When I got home I heard the birds going crazy and knew something was up so went to investigate and that is when I saw the hawk in their pen and some bodies on the ground. I did find some dead birds the next couple of days in the coop and outside in their pen. They may have succumbed to injuries.I put some welded wire in the spot that I saw where there was a tiny gap. It didn't look like anything had dug there. I do have cameras but I had turned them off during the day. Next time I go off for awhile I'm leaving the cameras on. That night I did see a coyote next to that coop. The next day while I was outside working I heard a yelp, probably a predator testing the electric wire, so I went out to see if I could see any predator out by the coops but while walking around the coops and pens, didn't see any. Every morning when I go out and change out the memory cards in the cameras I check the birds. They were all fine before I left. Initially when I returned I found 12 dead birds. This is the coop and the coyote I saw on camera. The date is wrong on the picture but I reset the camera. This was taken on 9/11 at around 2am.

Another camera on the same night.