What is killing my chickens???

[Okie4570]

Thanks, Okie4570. I never thought rats could kill healthy, adult chickens - until after reading this thread. If this is the case, then I did right by putting warfarin under the floor boards of the chicken house. Also, I have much smaller live catch traps that I can place inside the chicken house at night, in addition to the coyote cage trap outside of it. This is truly exacerbating.

I've never seen the rat damage first hand, only from an old timer who always said to never put your chicken coop next to a grassy field........ "rats will eat the a$$e$ out of your chickens during the summer months" were his exact words.

Interesting link......I'm going to disagree with their suggestion that a skunk won't eat an adult chicken.

http://www.avianaquamiser.com/posts/What_killed_my_chicken__63__/

 

[Junior Bonner]

I've never seen the rat damage first hand, only from an old timer who always said to never put your chicken coop next to a grassy field........ "rats will eat the a$$e$ out of your chickens during the summer months" were his exact words.

Interesting link......I'm going to disagree with their suggestion that a skunk won't eat an adult chicken.

http://www.avianaquamiser.com/posts/What_killed_my_chicken__63__/

I read your link, but the old timer's warning carries horrific semblance to what is happening. I am moving my small cage traps into the chicken house tomorrow night, and baiting them good. Hell, I'm going out there and going to do it right now.

 

[4play]

Another vote for possum, maybe a skunk. Cats usually don't bother adult chickens, since you caught a cat its probably either starving, curious or maybe going after rats/mice that like to hang out in/or around the coop.

I doubt a rat can tip a cinder block, a possum or skunk could though.

 

[milsurp2.0]

Possum. I've seen roosters(game) survive having their backs eaten out. I can't blame them. Chicken back is my favorite piece of the bird too.

 

[Junior Bonner]

Another vote for possum, maybe a skunk. Cats usually don't bother adult chickens, since you caught a cat its probably either starving, curious or maybe going after rats/mice that like to hang out in/or around the coop.

I doubt a rat can tip a cinder block, a possum or skunk could though.

Possum. I've seen roosters(game) survive having their backs eaten out. I can't blame them. Chicken back is my favorite piece of the bird too.

Not taking any chances. I found one of my small cage traps and have it inside the chicken house now. The chicken yard is well fenced in with chicken wire. They are living in an almost fortress.

 

[Junior Bonner]

I've done a web search and some reading on the subject. These are the web sites that come up.
http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/w...ng-the-culprit-from-the-crime-scene-evidence/
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/303720/lost-one-chicken-ate-only-rear-end
http://icwdm.org/inspection/livestock.aspx

The problem is they all suggest a different predator........ the last one made some good points and indicated ole smiley(possum).

PS don't sweat the cat thing man I aint judging you.

Thanks, trickydick. I'm certain I'll be taken to task on other things, as well. But this is the place to get the info.

 

[53convert]

possums is the first choice, coons second. A coon will not always carry off the dead bird, but they will. Possum will just gut and eat the bird.

 

[Junior Bonner]

Well. Nothing got into the chicken house last night. No rat was captured in the small live catch cage, no sign of disturbance in there. However, the chicken carcass was gone from the coyote trap, and the lever had not been depressed. I pressed it and it worked just fine. So, what do I think? I am scratching my head. It crosses my mind that there are several active predators - large and small. The predator had to lift the heavy bird in a straight up motion without coming into contact with the lever pan. There were no feathers. It was not left on the spot as the others were.

So, I think this predator is the one that moved the cinder block from the door last week. But I don't think it is the one eating the guts out of the chickens while they are still alive. This is an active area at night for several predators, I believe.

Can game cams record in darkness? Do they have an IR that a motion sensor can activate?

Edit: Edit: BTW, the canned dog food in the bowl had been left completely untouched. Also, in retrospect I should have tied the chicken carcass to the cage.

 

[mugsy]

Some game cams can capture IR stills and video basically more $$ = more options. But you should be able to get something to meet your needs under $100.00

I am betting raccoon - those suckers can climb, manipulate levers, and generally frustrate efforts to capture them.

 

[SoonerP226]

So I placed a gallon of warfarin under some of the floor boards the chicken house 30 minutes ago.

Well, that's very thoughtful of you, trying to help those poor rats with their heart problems...

Seriously, best of luck on getting rid of whatever it is.