SmallCaliberCentral

i got growled at.

how badly did i screw up you ask....
this week has just been demoralizing.... all the older egg laying chickens got eaten by a varmint.... a fox i think. lost two more youngsters this morning at 4 am it broke through wood coop and plucked two out. all i found was the guts of one of the birds with feathers all over. i could not get the pictures to transfer. bad cable or drive do not know what is wrong. on top of it all i got growled at while i checked on them at 4am. i walked in to something going on i think. could not find where is was at all. i must have been close. going to try to set up again tonight after double boarding the coop. i can not believe it happened again.

It broke through the wood? Sounds too big for a fox. I'd make sure I was armed while checking things out. Maybe it was a chupacabra!

I just looked up Chupacabra on Wikipedia. Now that would make a fine trophy. I have lost chickens, rabbits and trees to hungry critters so I can relate to how frustrated you are. Did you find any tracks? Good luck and good huntin'.

i fell asleep. when i woke two more were gone. some remands guts and bones. there was a path in the grass that went nowhere. the wood is one inch thick found less feathers not sure why. was looking at the traps in the store. $60 might try one of those tuesday if i fail again tonight. it might be a large dog or half coyote. coyote or .... i did not even get a look at it to even have a clue.

the other night i must have been real close.

204cat all you can eat chicken buffet the varmints swear it is better than sanders.

I feel your pain, man! 10+ years ago when living in SE Idaho, we decided to raise a batch of Guinnea hens. Kept them in the garage for 6 weeks until they were big enough for an outside coop I had made of chicken wire and 1/2" plywood. First night outside, a fox had chewed a 5"x5" hole thru the plywood, and wiped out 18 of 20 hens. Never did get a shot at the fox, but those last 2 birds must have figured something out since they lived to a ripe old age. Good luck.

growled at I'd set up a few Claymores! Let us know what you come up with. Gary

update....

i set up some traps. instead of waiting to get a good shot at it i thought that just leaving the traps would work. for some reason it always seems to know when i am out or in the area. and when best to strike. with four remaining birds i left the area and got a good sleep. went out hoping to find it trapped and the four birds there. FEATHERS!!!! bait in trap with no fox.... four birds gone. no more chickens.

204cat wrote:...for some reason it always seems to know when i am out or in the area. and when best to strike....

That's the hallmark of the chupacabra. That's also why no one has ever photographed one.

you think i should get a trail camera and set it up to see what it is that is in the area. i set up the traps again and in the morning the doors were shut but no varmint inside. it moved the traps. there was only one track print. i posted photos of the tracks from before. i am starting to think that it really is a chupacabra. no sheep. i did find parts of the chickens laying all over the place. a leg here a wing there and guts in this pile and in that pile. part of a path. maybe a few cameras....

Screw the wood, get hardware cloth and line ALL the exterior portions of your coop/run with it. No exceptions.

We have raccoons here, get up to 30lbs and more. We trap them and then do them in in a trashcan of water. I had a half inch plywood board in the bottom of the trap first time round to help trigger the pressure plate. Watched the raccoon spend the day methodically taking it apart till the largest piece could pass through the wire. It was like termites.

Can't speak for foxes, but raccoons are amazing predators and you can't armor your birds enough with them.

I am really sorry for your loss. We haven't lost a bird in 6 years now, but dang we work at it.

why do i have to learn things the hardway ? it seems like every year they the predators show up for a few weeks then gone.

i see on backyardchickens and other websites many people use wood for their coops. will look for the all metal coops. thank you. if i get any more birds.

No doubt about it.... It has to be a Chupacabra.....

Folks have actually taken pictures of the creature, but just by pure blind coincidence, none of them know how to post pictures on the internet. Go figure the odds on that one...

-BCB

Chupacabra as i recall is "goat sucker" .... i think you mean "chicken sucker" .... retoño de pollo


i am starting to think that it really is a chupacabra. no sheep. all i ever got was pictures of tracks .... and chicken parts. i would like to get that chupacabra with my 204 remmie sps.

Maybe it thought that your chickens were goats....??

-BCB

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/article/t ... -sightings

so that is what it looks like. maybe it goat confused ?