Post by Mitra on Jul 2, 2015 10:11:08 GMT -5
This morning when I opened up one of my three chicken coops, the three 7-week old chicks who live in that coop were gone. I wondered if they had roosted up in the tree next to the coop where several other chickens roost at night. Just as I was turning to walk away from the coop, my eye spied something red. I went into the coop to look at it more closely - it was blood and there were some feathers. Then I saw other "little chunks" of meat and feathers all over the coop. I was having a hard time figuring out what I was looking at until I decided to pick up one of the pieces and there was a little chicken leg attached. It was all three chicks and they were mostly consumed. Last night, there were 8 hens in that coop, no roosters. I think the hens did it.
Last week, when my daughter went to close the coop at night, there was a skunk in the coop. We couldn't get it to come out of the coop so we had to leave the little chicken door open. That night at midnight, there was a terrible ruckus in the coop. I heard chickens screaming. It was horrible. There was nothing I could do. The next part of the horror was hearing a chicken come out of the coop to get away and get chased and eaten. It was not quick. The next morning I went to the coop to discover that it was the Mama hen and one of her four chicks that had gotten it. I think that the hen and chick were killed by a fox who went in and snatched them off the roost. I don't think it was the skunk.
When my husband came home from working out of state, he set up the live trap on Saturday night by the first coop. In the morning there was a big fat skunk in there. He shot it. There's no way that a fox or a skunk got in there last night. That is why I think it was the hens. Why in the world would they have done that after coexisting with these lonely motherless chicks for a week?
We've been under siege for weeks by a family of foxes. In the last 7 weeks I have lost 18 chickens and 2 ducks to the fox family. My remaining chickens are super stressed all the time now. I know that stress can make humans do terrible things so I'm pretty sure it was these gals
Last week, when my daughter went to close the coop at night, there was a skunk in the coop. We couldn't get it to come out of the coop so we had to leave the little chicken door open. That night at midnight, there was a terrible ruckus in the coop. I heard chickens screaming. It was horrible. There was nothing I could do. The next part of the horror was hearing a chicken come out of the coop to get away and get chased and eaten. It was not quick. The next morning I went to the coop to discover that it was the Mama hen and one of her four chicks that had gotten it. I think that the hen and chick were killed by a fox who went in and snatched them off the roost. I don't think it was the skunk.
When my husband came home from working out of state, he set up the live trap on Saturday night by the first coop. In the morning there was a big fat skunk in there. He shot it. There's no way that a fox or a skunk got in there last night. That is why I think it was the hens. Why in the world would they have done that after coexisting with these lonely motherless chicks for a week?
We've been under siege for weeks by a family of foxes. In the last 7 weeks I have lost 18 chickens and 2 ducks to the fox family. My remaining chickens are super stressed all the time now. I know that stress can make humans do terrible things so I'm pretty sure it was these gals