For most backyard chicken farmers in the northeast I consider the raccoon number one on the list.
Damage to the flock from raccoons is generally in the area of the chickens head. I have seen this several times in my own flock and the damage is generally done to the chickens head. It is also usually fatal for the chicken.
I believe they are similar to a woodchuck or groundhog in a garden, and if there is more than one, they seem to feel the need to taste several, all if you only have a few, before leaving.
I did have one experience where an adult female did take one at a time to feed her young, or to support herself while feeding young. All other times, the birds were dead. Sometimes the comb was chewed or bitten off or the entire head was missing.
Another time I lost a chicken and all that was left were the back legs and part of the back. The remains were in the outside pen and my feeling is that it was some sort of raptor, probably a small hawk as it happened in the daytime. I saw nothing but the remains of the chicken so it is hard to tell. I just know from reading about this that it is common for hawks to kill and eat this part of a chicken, or their prey.
I also had a fox that came and wounded one and took another with it. I saw no wounds on the chicken, but didn’t thoroughly examine it so I really don’t know for sure what killed it.
These are the three animals that have attacked my flock. The fox and raptor, whatever, attacked during the daytime, and the raccoons are always at night.
I got rid of the fox because it came back when I was home. Because it dug under the fence during the daytime and did the previous damage of taking one and killing another, I was able to get a gun and shoot it. I had shot at it the evening before, but it didn’t seem to scare it, so I felt compelled to protect my chickens.
When possible I take care of raccoons the same way. They usually take a while to kill the chickens and when occupied with several chickens waiting to have their heads ripped off, I can usually get my gun, flashlight, and get to the chicken house to take care of the problem.
The recommended way to take care of any predator is to trap it alive and relocate it. This is what I will recommend to those who don’t believe in just taking care of the problem. Trapping works well and if you are lucky, you won’t lose a few more chickens while waiting for the trap to do it’s job.
The hawks are a different thing to me. I don’t wish to keep my chickens confined because I like the “free range” eggs and the fact that I buy much less grain and feed. However, I wouldn’t shoot a hawk. I also don’t believe they are extremely endangered because in the area where I live, I see them quite frequently. I also don’t believe they are a major problem in that in 30 years I have only had my chickens attacked twice by hawks.
The other predator in my area that is brave enough to come around are weasels and dogs. I have seen ermine, whatever you wish to call them, but never lost a chicken to one.
I do keep the chicken house secured at night. This eliminates 99% of the problems. Occasionally a raccoon will get into the coop. This happens during the summer in most cases, actually late spring when windows and doors are left open. The problem I had was that they managed to either rip the poultry netting off the frame to make a small hole and get in, or somehow they got the door open. Properly securing your coop will not only save your chickens, it will also prevent the necessity of disrupting or taking the life of animals that will feed on chickens. Everyone wins if you have a nice secure coop.
There are many other animals that would kill chickens. The good thing so far at least is that they haven’t lost quite enough fear of humans to come close to people’s homes. Occasionally they will, but fortunately I haven’t had this problem yet.
I don’t consider neighborhood dogs as predators, but in reality they will be the animal that causes the greatest problem for a small flock owner that has room to just let the chickens range around their home.
Tags: Eliminating Predators, foxes, hawks, raccoons