Predator on the prowl

[Burlsun]

In an earlier post I talked about one of my hens having a swollen crop.
Well, lastnight when I went to close the door on the chicken house, I noticed she was missing. I also found feathers scattered in the pen yesterday, along with a clump of feathers on the bottom rail of the fence.

I did see an animal swim to the other bank of the canal yesterday, but I only saw the backside. I am thinking it might be a beaver.

Does anyone know what kind of animal leaves nothing behind except a few feathers?

[RonL]

Burlson. Sorry to hear about your loss. I would doubt a beaver would do this. It sounds like it was carried away after a short chase. Could be a fox or bobcat if they're in your area. Possums or skunks usually eat their prey on the spot and leave a mess (usually after dark as they normally would have a hard time catching chickens). Coons do also, but leave less of a mess. They leave lots of feathers behind. They also could have carried it a short distance to eat it. Weasels/mink would kill all the ones they can get to and not eat all. It could also be a large preditor bird which would have to be large enough to carry it away. Have you searched the area close by to find any tell-tale signs?

[Burlsun]

I did a lot of searching. There is a little wire gate in the fence connecting the main coop with another pen the same size. I found alot of trails in the grass/thistles and a bone, it could be an old one because it didn't have flesh on it. They eat grass in this pen since there is none in the main coop.

There is also a friendly goose that I usually see every day, I have not seen it in a couple of days.

[Dave-n-Julie]

Eastern Wa.... Coyote? Pine Martin? Mink? I know, hunting in Colorado, after we had taken an elk, covered it with cheese cloth and hung the quarters it in a cool place, we still had to chase a Pine Martin off. There are online reports of predation by Martins and Minks. Minks will also take waterfowl. You may want to talk with the game commission to find out what types of predators are common to your area? I did read online that to avoid Martin and Mink predation you will need to have some kind of wire roofing to your runs.

Remember, we are new to this chicken thing... so take this for what it is worth :wink:

Dave

[cguardsman]

owls are notorious for pulling out a lot of feathers before taking off with a chicken.

[Burlsun]

More bad news....

I went out last night and found a dead hen, and her head was pulled through the fence. (Here is were it gets a little graphic)
Her neck was stretched and she had a hole in it. There was nothing left inside though. No throat, nothing. She was covered in mud, I could barely recognize her.

But the funny thing is there was a long drag mark on one side of the pen going down to the water. I found her on the opposite side of the pen.

There are coyotes around here. Along with racoons, skunks, birds of prey, beavers, otter....the list goes on.

[cguardsman]

sounds like you could some electric fencing around the bottom of your run!

[RonL]

Burlson. If you have access to a large Box Trap, then place the rest of the chicken in it and place it outside the fence. You have to get rid of that culprit as it will continue to search your area for more easy prey. Cguard had a good idea with the electric fence ...........

[Burlsun]

I do have electric fencing, but it is not working properly :x I am trying to fix it. After I fix it I will have to prune the overgrowth of branches and grass that is on the wire.

I have never heard of a Box trap. I still have the chicken, she is in a garbage bag. I was going to bury her. This idea sounds good, does the animal get caught inside the trap or what?

[Dave-n-Julie]

A box trap is a live trap. It is a rectangular box made out of wire mesh. Bait is put in the back portion of the trap. The door is operated by a pressure plate located infront of the bait. The animal enters the trap, steps on the pressure plate to get to the bait, dropping the door behind them. The loca game warden will usually have one for nusance animals, you may be able to borrow one from them. I know our tractor supply sells them. Not sure you want to pay real money for one. It may be something you want to call around for. Like any trap, your human scent will cause the animal to balk at going inside. Handle things with rubber gloves etc. Good Luck!

Dave