Dan the coons

[Float On]

Edited to say: That should be Darn the coons - not Dan.
So angry I'm typing too fast.
Well.
I've gone from 7 chickens to 1.
The one that survived happens to be the one that is blind in one eye, how she managed to survive is kind of amazing to me.
I need to see if my friend has any extra chickens to spare or see what is available on Craigslist.
I found where the coon had to squeeze in thru a small window (one of the hinges broke on the window door and pushed the screen in). I've repaired that and added heavier screen with sharp edges on the outside of the window and am considering adding a hotwire.
Just really feeling like I let my girls down by not doing a daily inspection on the security of their home.
I've lost chickens before to coons but never inside their henhouse.

[iris lily]

That is tragic, and I'm so sorry. ugh. Very sad.

[daisy]

Oh, that's awful. I would add the hot wire, if possible. It really seems to help deter raccoons.

My sister lost 11 new chicks and most of her eggs this spring to a snake. She happened to see it in the coop one evening when she was putting the chickens up for the night. She was so enraged she caught it and killed it with her bare hands. She measured it later and it was about 5 feet long. (For the record, she is made of sturdier stuff than I!)

[CathyA]

Oh that's awful!! I'm so sorry!
When the coon killed a couple of my hens, it was just escaping out a loose area in the netting at the top of the run. I swear, if I could have reached it, I would have killed it with my bare hands. (which probably wouldn't have been very smart on my part!)
Those coons are vicious.........and unfortunately, they are very smart and persistent.

My coop has sliding windows that I take out in the summer. On the outside, I have nailed 1/2" hardware cloth over the entire opening, with a slat of wood across the middle that's also screwed into the window frame. It seems to work very well. But all my windows are too high for coons to reach........but you never know. They have all sorts of tricks.
I'm so sorry for your loss Float On. I'm sure the coon will be back. Can you relocate it, or shoot it?

Don't be too hard on yourself Float On.

[puglogic]

Float On, I'm so sorry. I experienced this with losing chicks to one in California. I love all animals and understand their role in nature and all, but I was so angry that if I could've caught it, I think I would've beat it flat with a shovel. Ashamed to say.
Take a deep breath, forgive yourself for not being omniscient and all-powerful, and move forward?

[razz]

Coons can get through very strong structures if they want to. A friend showed me the damage on a door to a coop that had the wood shredded.

[earthshepherd]

We have been at war with the coons too this summer -- but only for trash picking. How awful to lose your chickens! I had an opossum take out half my duck flock, once long ago. It really is disheartening. So sorry.

[Merski]

We too had a raccoon kill in our coop and the electric fence wire we put at the top of the outside pen stopped any more attacks. It was an awful helter-skelter kind of discovery that morning. One chicken survived miraculously but she was a nervous wreck for days...

[Float On]

One chicken survived miraculously but she was a nervous wreck for days... Yes, Muffy isn't doing well. I've got to find her some young chicks for her to take care of to get her feeling chipper again but because she has a wound on her neck I don't want to mix her in with others yet. I'm treating it and its looking better but poor girl, I'm afraid she is just going to give up her chicken spirit.

Coons were back last night but didn't bother her, only the trash cans. They rattle them around and roll them into the woods trying to get them open. I need some traps or just sit up late with my old 22.

[benhyr]

I'm really sorry to hear about your chickens Float On :(

[CathyA]

When I had a coon attack in my run, it was so traumatic to the hens that they quit laying for about a year, even the ones with no physical wounds. They just weren't themselves for a long time.
One hen had a 3"x4" piece of skin ripped off her back. I cleaned it up and kept her in a pen in the house (to avoid maggots), and she healed beautifully in about a month. But.....they were extremely traumatized by it. I was so upset with myself. I was in the house watching a movie when it happened. I checked on them through the kitchen window and they were still out in the run (evening), so I put off closing them up for about a half hour. When I went out, they were all making very strange noises and I didn't understand why. Then I saw 2 hens dead on the ground. It was awful. Just awful. I can't imagine your feelings when you found 6 of yours dead. It made me sick to think I was watching a movie while they were fighting for their lives. :(
We do the best we can, but sometimes the coons find the weakest part of our set-up.
Ellen.....just give your girl alot of time to heal. Little chickies to take care of sounds like good therapy!

[Float On]

My friend had two hens he could spare but no chicks. He is working on switching breeds next year so has decreased his current flock quite a bit.
I'm keeping the injured hen free during the day and in a small secure dog crate at night and the new girls in the the house/run until they get use to the new place. She perked up a bit when she realized there were some new girls in town but still not eating very well.

[CathyA]

Just make sure the new ones don't have any diseases.
Can you get some stress powder stuff from somewhere? (Petsmart, an anvian specialist)? Its sort of like Ensure for humans and has alot of nutrients.
I realize its sort of late in the season, but could you get some fertilized eggs to "grow" yourself?

[AnneM]

So sorry to hear about your girls. I lost one of mine a few weeks back to a coyote. I could tell from the feather trail that she was nabbed on our driveway (she got out of her secured area somehow and we have reinforced since). My neighbor across the road told me that the coyote was crossing the road with the chicken in its mouth, and a car came around the blind corner and ran off the road into a ditch. The car had to be towed the next day. The critter got away with my hen.