29d • General discussion
When something eats your chickens...
We only had 2 chickens, since that is all we need. I just turned them loose in the new poultry run two days ago, and this morning I was greeted with only one chicken and a pile of feathers.
This particular property has been really troublesome since we moved here 4 years ago. In the last year we have lost a LOT of animals to predators, which is ironic since I used to have an egg farm 3 miles from a literal wilderness area and never lost a hen to wildlife (my blue heeler was responsible for a few though).
The steps I went through today:
Figure out what species might be responsible. We have almost every predator in North America in our immediate area. The trick is to narrow down the choices. Our ground is frozen, so there weren't any footprints to help.
The poultry run is a greenhouse covered in fitted heavy plastic. The edges were mostly sealed down, so it was not a bear, mountain lion, large dog or wolf, or an avian predator like an owl, eagle or hawk.
The trail of feathers went under the adjacent fence, which eliminates a bobcat (they jump over). The remaining possible choices are skunk, raccoon, fox, and maybe a coyote.
With my dog, we found more feathers 150 feet away in a patch of snow. There were rough tracks slightly smaller than the tracks my dog left in the snow with more feathers, so by elimination it was most likely a coyote or fox.
Now what to do:
Add extra safeguards specific to the offending predator.
This is the concern. The edges of the barn were lifted up and the retreating predator then squeezed under a wire goat fence. Even decent fencing was not enough. Additionally, the rabbit barn is 3 sided, so it will need to be secured before dark as well.
The poultry space was an " important but not urgent" project I have been working on, but it instantly got upgraded to "life and death mission critical" (on top of moving hay out to the main farm).
All of the birds (one chicken and 3 ducks) will have to be in lockdown in rabbit cages until I can get things upgraded.
It is breeding season for coyotes, and last night we were surrounded by 4 different groups, half a mile in any direction. They are hungry, which means they will be opportunistic and persistent.
This is the life of having animals that they don't discuss among the cutesy memes making owning chickens sound like a carefree dream life. Animals die, and chickens are food for a dozen possible predators. In picking your food system, you have to be aware of and willing to accept the struggle that comes with it.
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When something eats your chickens...
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