well, we lost both our roosters at 3:30 this am. we heard all this comotion, neighbors dogs barking and chickens yelling. we went outside but we live in the deep woods and was hard to see anything.but at dawn this am both my roosters were gone and feathers everywhere. its strange cuz one rooster roosts on the hen house and one in the trees no where the other one, i know we have a fox here she is very bold and has killed before in broad daylight while we were within 100 ft of her. but both at the same time in different places?? do foxes travel in packs? we havent seen her since last fall. there are deep and long scratch marks in the dirt around the area some are 2 side by side and some are 3 side by side. just cant figure it out.

-- cody (urbusted@alltel.net), February 21, 2002

Answers

Where were the neighbors dogs ??

-- Helena Di Maio (windyacs@npacc.net), February 21, 2002.

in their own yard.

-- cody (urbusted@alltel.net), February 21, 2002.

Hi cody! You will find a lot of discussions on keeping your poultry safe from predators in the archives. Scroll down there. That said, the question you need to ask is not "what killed my___________? But how you can keep whatever poultry you have, safe from whatever might want to dine on them and that is just about every predator out there! You will need a secure poultry house to keep them in at night. Good luck, hope you can keep the rest of them safe. LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), February 21, 2002.

hi LQ. we have 2 chicken houses that the hens are locked up in 24-7 the roosters are left out because they dont like being locked up and get to be a real problem when we have in the past. but i suppose that s no worry now. but what ever it was has tore the 4 ply plastic to shreds we put around the coops in the winter and has picked at the chicken wire trying to get in the house.so, i am concerned as to WHAT it is. i guess we will lurk in the yard tonight to see it comes back for more.

-- cody (urbusted@alltel.net), February 21, 2002.

Try an electric fence wire arond the perimeter of the coop. It is the only thing that has worked for me.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), February 21, 2002.

You could water down the area around your fence and see if you can pick up any tracks, the next day. If it got the rooster out of the tree, then I'd guess something like an owl. The long scratch marks could be two predators pulling the rooster apart. As it is spring, maybe the fox has a new mate to help with the hunting.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), February 21, 2002.

thats what i was saying to my hubby this am. i was wondering if it is a pair of foxes and if they have pups to feed. nothing happened last night,but early this am i took my shepards out and something big was moving through the woods behind the house. we do have a bear and he frequents the woods on our property and the mans corn field behind me. but the most he will do is come ont he porch and eat the cat food and try to get into the chicken feed.and of course we have a who's gonna get to the huckleberries,blackberries,raspberrys first contest. some years he wins. take care..cody

-- cody (urbusted@alltel.net), February 22, 2002.