# Chicken Predators



## SurvivalNut

Have had my girls for almost a year now. This morning found one dead, head gone, innerds pulled out and eaten, pretty clean job besides the feathers laying about. 

My coop is inside a fenced orchard (6 ft fencing). The birds have the walk of the orchard in the day. The fence perimeter was untouched, there is a foot of hard snow on the ground. A light dusting of snow covered the ground, obviously post event. No tracks. 

I bought a live trap, I baited it with the carcass and some cat food. Whatever is in it in the morning, won't be alive shortly after my arrival. 

I closed the hens inside the coop for the night. 

I figure a racoon got her, only assuming because of the clean kill. There are eagles here, but don't see them in the winter. 

Only other animals about are domestic dogs and cats and coyotes, but again, the kill site was very precise and no dogs could pentrate the fence unknown. 

Any ideas? I will keep you posted on the results.


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## Herbalpagan

It sounds to me like a '****, but it could have been a weasel. A weasel wouldn't have left tracks really as they are so light, where a **** would have.


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## CVORNurse

Herbalpagan said:


> It sounds to me like a '****, but it could have been a weasel. A weasel wouldn't have left tracks really as they are so light, where a **** would have.


herbal, my husband said **** or weasel last night too.

We once bought a predator thingy that you put away from the house. It makes a cat hiss every now during the evening and night to scare the smaller preds like ****, fox and weasel away from your area. Can't remember if it was a mountain lion or what it was. We still have it but took it down several years ago, so don't know if it still works. I am going to google and see if I can find it still. I remember emailing the guy that made it, think he was in MO somewhere. It cut down to almost nothing our predator kills of our girls. And we had lost a lot


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## SurvivalNut

*Predator Update #1*

Nothing in the trap tonight. I will take out the frozen bait and rebait it just before dark tonight.

Spokane has had a miserable winter. 7 feet of snow in a 3 week period, compacted and still on the ground. Temps to -20. Very unsusual. I can see predators being more desperate. In 9 years I have only seen one other **** here. It would eat the cat food on the porch while the cats would watch from their heated igloo. That was a few years ago. I chased it off for good, but that is another story.

As far as the hens go, I have (had) 4 Buff Orphingtons. The henhouse is not heated, but I do have a heating pad under the nestbox to keep the eggs from freezing. They are protected from any wind. They have done fabulously and continue with 2-3 eggs per day, even with a broody (the broody was the one eaten so the predator must have gone into the henhouse, up the stairs and pulled her out, she would not have been wandering about, that's a mystery)

I was saving the broody to mother a few chicks I was going to pick up from the farm store next week. but I guess they already got orphaned.

I will post an update when there is news.

I like the idea of a cat call to keep predators away, but there are horses on the other side of the fence from the chickens, (other neighbor), will they freak out?

What discourages large predatory birds (Hawks, Eagles?)


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## Herbalpagan

Shiney things and a net often discourage bird preditors. If this happens again, I would go to your local hunting store and get preditor urine/scent to put around. I wouldn't pin my hopes on the trap getting whatever it is.


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## CVORNurse

SurvivalNut said:


> Nothing in the trap tonight. I will take out the frozen bait and rebait it just before dark tonight.
> 
> Spokane has had a miserable winter. 7 feet of snow in a 3 week period, compacted and still on the ground. Temps to -20. Very unsusual. I can see predators being more desperate. In 9 years I have only seen one other **** here. It would eat the cat food on the porch while the cats would watch from their heated igloo. That was a few years ago. I chased it off for good, but that is another story.
> 
> As far as the hens go, I have (had) 4 Buff Orphingtons. The henhouse is not heated, but I do have a heating pad under the nestbox to keep the eggs from freezing. They are protected from any wind. They have done fabulously and continue with 2-3 eggs per day, even with a broody (the broody was the one eaten so the predator must have gone into the henhouse, up the stairs and pulled her out, she would not have been wandering about, that's a mystery)
> 
> I was saving the broody to mother a few chicks I was going to pick up from the farm store next week. but I guess they already got orphaned.
> 
> I will post an update when there is news.
> 
> I like the idea of a cat call to keep predators away, but there are horses on the other side of the fence from the chickens, (other neighbor), will they freak out?
> 
> What discourages large predatory birds (Hawks, Eagles?)


our next door neighbor has always had horses. If they were freaked out, we never knew about it. The call isn't very loud. I sure do wish I could remember what it was called. I have tried searching the newsgroup where I heard of it, but so far haven't hit on the right thing. Hopefully it will come to me. It runs on D or C type batteries and we had to change them maybe every 6 months, so it was very easy to deal with

And I just love buff orpingtons. We have consistenly gotten 9-12 eggs daily all winter. Have 9 or so buffs and a few mutts. If we ever buy more, it will be buffs. No question about it.


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## CVORNurse

Found it! I finally hit on the right search word combo to find the thing I was looking for. It is a phantom pest deterrent.

Phantom Pest Wildlife Deterrents - Get rid of Coyote Deer **** Bear Skunk Beaver Dillo Bobcat Fox. USA Best!
according to the website, it does not really bother domestic livestock, so should be safe to use around horses.

I can vouch that predadations went to almost nothing when we were using it.


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## TechAdmin

Look forward to hearing what you got. I just started my chicken coop and just waiting to get some critter trying to make a go at them.


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## SurvivalNut

2nd day, nothing trapped.

This morning at 11am saw a large bird (Hawk?) sitting on top of one of the 8 ft fence posts. Standing it is about 18 inches tall plus, not trying to exagerrate, just a guess.

Chased it off. The coop is about 300 ft from my house. 

At 4pm I noticed it again, same post. Not in a hurry to fly off, casually flew away.

At this point I lose. I was hoping for an all out war against a four legged fiend, legal to kill. Now I have to be kind so I don't go to jail for killing it (I won't-kill it that is). So I will just have to put up mirrors and shinies and maybe move a big plastic owl around the posts, make the area look busy. 

An owl won't work against a Hawk, but it may confuse it for awhile. I will find one that hoots intermittently.

I am sure the carcass in the live trap just looked like a dinner plate so that wil be moved out today and emptied. 

The chickens have an enclosed 4x8 ft coop. But on the coop are 2 small doors, one on either end. When the garden is growing, I keep that door closed and keep the orchard end door open, they can run on the fenced orchard (40x80) all day long and they find their own way home. After the garden is done in the fall, the garden door is opened and the girls roam the fenced garden, 40x40. Both areas are too big to put overhead netting. And I am determined to continue to allow the girls to run free, but a daytime determined predator just messes that up. I have a Great Dane, but she is afraid of her own spots. The 2 Yorkies are bird bait, so no more room for dogs. 

I really like the cat caller CVORNurse recommended and I wil get one, but it is not for the Birds, so to speak. 

I will also plant some shrubbery near the coop so the hens have some cover while running to the coop, but that also helps the four legged devils get in closer. 

I might get some netting to extend a ways from the coop so they can walk about a bit even with two beady eyes watching them. 

All my Orchard trees are new, in last spring so they are too small for the hawk to roost, I just realized, that the 40ea 8 foot posts just make it easy for any bird to sit and watch the girls. I will have to devise some sort of cone to place on top of each one to remove the temptation to rest on them, waiting. Or maybe a springy rod or wire with a silvery tassle to blow in the wind. 

Crap, thought I had a good system in place, now I have to go back to the drawing board!


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## bonanacrom

Many predators will take the head first. It wasn't a weasel as that critter would have taken the hole carcass away with it. Many times that I had been called to a problem like this it was most likely a skunk or raccoon. From the descriptions you gave I would lean towards the skunk as ***** don't normally remove all the feathers but instead peal back the skin as they eat. Plus if a **** finds a place with easy eating it would come back until there was no more food or it gets run off. Skunks don't have set routines so you my or may not have it come back. That's just my opinion from my experiences.


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## SurvivalNut

*Final Update?*

So taking the live trap out of the run with the carcass in it stopped the Hawk from perching on the fence. Was probably like chum to a shark. Had to be terrifying to the chickens in the run next door, my apologies to them. Stupid idea on my part.

Next, 2-3 days with no eggs. PTSD for hens?

I put the trap back next to the coop by a small spot that looked like some lose dirt, no burrow. I put an egg in the trap. Remember the girl taken was my broodie who would have been sitting on all the eggs at the time of the first event.

This morning I find the neighbors cat in the live trap. No evidence of an egg, not even residue. It ate the egg clean. It was also very PO'd for being in the trap ovenight.

1/ did not know cats ate eggs whole (shells too.)
2/ did not know cats would kill and eat a chicken so cleanly. 
3/ did not think a cat could get into a coop so steathily. (the coop stays in place. Instead of running some wire on the ground in toward the coop I had the bright idea of digging a trench under the coop and filing it in with cantelope sized rocks, to keep Coyotes and ***** from burrowing in. This cat just slicked thru a very small gap)

Being kind and gentle, I left the cat in the cage for 24 hours then released it. I will hope the cat has learned a lesson. In a week or so, unless eggs come up missing sooner, I will rebait the trap with some canned friskies and see if anyone else shows up. I think that is the most humane way of teaching the cats NO!.

I have small grandkids so an electric wire is not an option.

The dog is in at night so the cats have the run. I have an outside cat too, so I have to reasonably accept a little trouble from time to time. Setting a live trap out occaisionaly seems like a humane way to educate the local cats without harm.

Hopefuly, chapter closed, lesson learned, blueprints opened.


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## CVORNurse

SurvivalNut said:


> This morning I find the neighbors cat in the live trap. No evidence of an egg, not even residue. It ate the egg clean. It was also very PO'd for being in the trap ovenight.
> 
> 1/ did not know cats ate eggs whole (shells too.)
> 2/ did not know cats would kill and eat a chicken so cleanly.
> 3/ did not think a cat could get into a coop so steathily. (the coop stays in place. Instead of running some wire on the ground in toward the coop I had the bright idea of digging a trench under the coop and filing it in with cantelope sized rocks, to keep Coyotes and ***** from burrowing in. This cat just slicked thru a very small gap)
> 
> Being kind and gentle, I left the cat in the cage for 24 hours then released it. I will hope the cat has learned a lesson. In a week or so, unless eggs come up missing sooner, I will rebait the trap with some canned friskies and see if anyone else shows up. I think that is the most humane way of teaching the cats NO!.
> 
> I have small grandkids so an electric wire is not an option.
> 
> The dog is in at night so the cats have the run. I have an outside cat too, so I have to reasonably accept a little trouble from time to time. Setting a live trap out occaisionaly seems like a humane way to educate the local cats without harm.
> 
> Hopefuly, chapter closed, lesson learned, blueprints opened.


having never had any of our outside, semi feral cats kill any of my chickens, I cannot attest to the eating of your hen. They will eat eggs, have caught them in the act, but looks to me like there should have been at least something left.
Perhaps you could gently complain to the neighbor, and let them know what the cat did, just so they are aware of the problem.


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## SurvivalNut

*the neighors cat*

I did report the offending cat and the neighors were geniunely sympathetic and apolgetic. They were willing to take the cat up to another property of theirs and let it barn around up there, but I suggested we just see what happens. I hope to learn more from cat proofing and retesting the coop than hauling off domestic offenders and over time testing neighborly patience. They let me have chickens, I let them have cats. If I were way out in the country my options and response to a domestic marauder might be different and more options would be legal. Keeping it low key to start. Secure chicken coops make for better neighborly relations. Still working on it.


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## Magus

SurvivalNut said:


> Have had my girls for almost a year now. This morning found one dead, head gone, innerds pulled out and eaten, pretty clean job besides the feathers laying about.
> 
> My coop is inside a fenced orchard (6 ft fencing). The birds have the walk of the orchard in the day. The fence perimeter was untouched, there is a foot of hard snow on the ground. A light dusting of snow covered the ground, obviously post event. No tracks.
> 
> I bought a live trap, I baited it with the carcass and some cat food. Whatever is in it in the morning, won't be alive shortly after my arrival.
> 
> I closed the hens inside the coop for the night.
> 
> I figure a racoon got her, only assuming because of the clean kill. There are eagles here, but don't see them in the winter.
> 
> Only other animals about are domestic dogs and cats and coyotes, but again, the kill site was very precise and no dogs could pentrate the fence unknown.
> 
> Any ideas? I will keep you posted on the results.


Possums,skunks and foxes will do that too.sounds like a possum kill.


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## Gravlore

CVORNurse said:


> Found it! I finally hit on the right search word combo to find the thing I was looking for. It is a phantom pest deterrent.
> 
> Phantom Pest Wildlife Deterrents - Get rid of Coyote Deer **** Bear Skunk Beaver Dillo Bobcat Fox. USA Best!
> according to the website, it does not really bother domestic livestock, so should be safe to use around horses.
> 
> I can vouch that predadations went to almost nothing when we were using it.


This thing still working for you? Every morning we have at least a set of deer and coyote tracks near the front door. What range does it have that you have found to be effective? I am very interested!


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