[Homestead] Disappearing chickens
EarthNSky
erthnsky at bellsouth.net
Tue Nov 14 12:49:58 EST 2006
I'm frustrated. My chicken count is going down quickly. Yesterday,
remember I said I was in and out of the house, something killed a
chicken in the middle of the afternoon. All signs point to a raccoon,
except that it happened in the day. I found a headless, neckless
chicken in the middle of the pen, at least 10 feet from a fence. The
kill spot, the feathery spot, was less than 10 feet from the carcass.
Before yesterday, it was exactly 7 days since the last attack, and I
understand that coons sometimes wait 5-7 days between raids. Right now,
I am missing a few birds, but they could be out in the woods loose
because something came around this morning, too, and scared almost all
of the birds out of the fence (flew over the 3 foot area where the coop
is under construction) The chickens normally don't do that unless
something is after them. In this case, I suspect a fox or coyote, but
the kill yesterday had to be either from a raccoon or a weasel.
I just don't know what I can do. I can't afford a better fence right
now. I have set a trap for whatever(raccoon sized haveaheart).
I'd put Rilian (Greater Swiss Mountain Dog) inside the garden fence with
the chickens, but I'm not sure he is smart enough to go after a raccoon.
He's big and dumb and stupid. I'd put Bear(Australian Shepherd) out
there, but he would escape the fence and be on the porch in less than 5
minutes. Bear is smart, and he does have the drive, but left alone, I'm
not entirely sure that he wouldn't go after the chickens, too. This
morning his prey drive was a bit stronger than I would have liked to
have seen when he was helping me round up and pen the loose birds. And
no, Bear is NOT the problem predator at large. I know this for a fact.
Bev, who is about ready to camp out with the gun.
--
BevanRon of EarthNSky Farm NW Georgia USDA Zone 7
34.498N 85.076W Bev is Earth, Ron is Sky
More information about the Homestead
mailing list