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Posted: 7/30/2017 6:42:27 PM EDT
Lost a bird every day the last five days, and two yesterday, between 5 and. 9 pm (dusk). No tracks, no feathers/signs of struggle, no carcasses. Chickens have a coop inside a 100'x32' fenced pen. I shut them in the coop at night. In the past, raccoons and possums would always hit after midnight. It's rained, ground is muddy, and no tracks.
Since the rooster got eaten they hop the fence and root around in the trees and undergrowth; I think this is where they're getting hit. Staking it out from a 26' tripod stand. Game cam is out at the far end but hasn't picked anything up the last couple nights. Attached File |
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I suspected an owl or hawk but in the past they'd land on top of a bird, kill it and tear the fuck out of it right there, eat and then fly away, leaving a lot of carcass behind. Owl would be closer to dusk, I should think. Time to break out the 12 gauge.
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Owls here like to get rabbits off the hedge row running down my property. Son of a bitch is bigger than my dog.
Anything he gets is flown the fuck out my yard asap. He doesn't like the exposure of my yard. |
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Unless that rifle is full auto? You are going to need a shotgun.
I have seen mature hawks take off with roosters. They don't even break a sweat. |
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In, because nothing tastes better than sweet revenge. Even if i gotta live it thru another.
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Quoted:
I suspected an owl or hawk but in the past they'd land on top of a bird, kill it and tear the fuck out of it right there, eat and then fly away, leaving a lot of carcass behind. Owl would be closer to dusk, I should think. Time to break out the 12 gauge. View Quote You just blew the third part of SSS. Training your chickens to stay out of that area would probably be a whole lot less expensive than taking out an owl. |
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I'm sure stuff can get over the fence, it's just odd it's happening in pretty bright sunlight. If there were tracks I'd be more inclined to believe a dog or something. Hawks usually can be seen if they're in the area, haven't seen many this year. They were everywhere last year and never bothered my birds, while last year the raccoons took out damn near my entire flock. Lost my goats back in May to feral dog.
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They don't call them chicken hawks for nothing. OP you have the wrong tool for the job your going to need a 12ga with some 2 shot in it.
Or net the area where the live that will keep aerial predators away. |
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I caught a fox coming back to a pick over the pieces of a chicken it had left behind the day before ( I left it there to see if anything came back to get it) ....middle of the day. It had taken at least 5 or 6 chickens to that point. Got him and no more missing chickens.
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Go to the grocery store.
Get full sized chicken (take it out of package). Hunt over bait. |
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Quoted:
They don't call them chicken hawks for nothing. OP you have the wrong tool for the job your going to need a 12ga with some 2 shot in it. Or net the area where the live that will keep aerial predators away. View Quote Nets should work on any bird. If it's s fox or coyotes the ar will work, but they would likely leave feathers behind. |
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I'm going to get some more hens and another roo by the end of summer. Ugh. Just got these ones laying good, I was bringing in a dozen or more eggs a day from 18 birds. Only five eggs this morning.
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Agree with previous posts that this is not a four legged threat you are facing, but likely one with two legs and two wings, just like your chickens.
Good luck with the protected species acts. |
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I like the "overwatch" shot of the AR, even though as noted above, it's the wrong tool for the job.
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I'm in FL so I've lost birds to just about anything you can imagine.
Hawk will usually leave a mess as mentioned but an eagle or owl will be in and out in the blink of an eye. Golden Eagle took one of mine this year while I watching them. Damn loud thud when he hit the bird then gone without a trace. Sounded like she was hit with a baseball bat! |
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Get a Goose for a sentry.
They can fight off some of the smaller predators and make a shit load of noise for the ones they can't. Also pretty good at detecting aerial predators. |
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Quoted:
No feathers or anything? You gots a snek. View Quote My adult retics will eat adult chickens and shit out the feathers two weeks later, but they are 12 feet or more. |
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About two months ago as I pulled in my drive at about 3 in the afternoon I saw a coyote with one of my Rhode Island reds in his mouth making for the fence line.
Same deal, no feathers on the ground no sign of a struggle in the area. |
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No one answered domestic/neighbor/cat/dog ?
The thing about raising chickens is...they taste like chicken. |
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I deaded the feral dog that killed my goats; My own dags have never taken a second glance at my chickens or pigs. My boar thinks he's a dog and sleeps in a dogloo most nights.
Had some coyotes last year but nothing this year. Really all spring/summer only problem I had was the dog that hit my goats. I've got coon traps up by my deer feeders and pretty much got rid of all the coons and possums in that area. No possums or coons on my game cams anymore. Whatever did my birds either came in over the fence on the woods side and didn't leave tracks, or it's a bird of some type. |
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You need to invest in some poultry netting to put over the top of the fenced in area. I found some on ebay at a reasonable price.
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