That sounds like weasel or mink. If you can't trap it you might consider putting out some cans of tuna or something like that. Since you have roosters, going after your chickens in daytime is a poor prospect for a small predator that the roosters could potentially kill. They're likely going after your chickens to try to get enough food to feed babies, so if you put food out they may take that and leave the chickens alone. Of course trapping the predator would be preferable but that may be difficult this time of year. Moving the chickens away from the woods would also help, as a small predator isn't likely to cross a field in daylight.
I suspect it was a dog as well. I inherited a little Pomeranian/Pekinese dog about 25 years ago from my sister. She had to get rid of him because he was thinning out her chickens. He only weighed about 5 to 8 lbs. But he could kill a much larger hen than he was.
Wow, that really sucks. We have way too many predators here to let our chickens not be fenced in. we just had a fox come in the other day and he did not have a good night after that. Sorry for your loss Troy.
Troy, I am very sorry to hear of this tragedy. In our central PA area, predators have become the main chicken concern. I’m down to two free ranging hens, who now stay on my kitchen porch, not a good idea I don’t recommend it! I hope your new safety measures will be effective for your working ladies.
farming in predator country in north idaho here. no losses only because we run 3 livestock guardian dogs. I can't imagine farming without them. they keep a predator island around our 100 acres. sorry for your loss friend.
I'm in Upstate South Carolina. Just lost 3 today to a fox. It didn't eat any of them. I lost 4 the same way a couple of months ago. Mine free range, but I need to re-think my setup. I've lost a few to hawks as well. Great video.
I feel your pain, had four new females 7 weeks old in a small coop next to my laying hens coop helping introduce them to each other. Went to water them 10 days ago something had torn into the coop and killed 3 golden comets, the production red got away. Put the red in another coop in the same area, put up a trail camera, two days later something tried to get back into the red. I pulled the sd card an watched it, a large husky dog was the culprit, never seen the dog in our area before. The dog was back yesterday trying to get in again, called the animal control officer, he said to use what ever method needed to protect my livestock!
It is always a blessing when all those questions are answered for us. Then you can put it too bed. I hope you catch something on the cam's. With a creek there I am thinking like @R A suggested it is an aquatic fur demon like a weasel, mink or something. Dog was my first thought but when you mentioned the creek and a distant memory of loosing 40 chickens and ducks in our old MN homestead to a little weasel bastard, then have him come back the next night and take more. LOL, funny memory was cleaning out the massacre and my lovely wife thinking there was a kitten under this old door we had in there when she realized it was the weasel! LOL, Boy was there a lot of yelling and scrambling for my little .410. LOL! Daisy treed it and I peppered it until it played possum. Good times!
Sounds like the work of a weasel. Dogs or fox would leave some tracks behind. Weasels will kill for sport and they are small enough to get into a lot places. They don't quit either.
I am so sorry. We have to protect our chickens from predators above and below: eagles, falcons, coyotes, weasels mostly. My Dogs help with their presence still...its an ongoing effort. Hearts to you.
I feel for you dude. Raccoon got my first flock in just a day. Let them out in the morning before work, came home to three dead. Went to go put them up for the evening and the rest were gone.
We had same situation! Killed 23 chickens and ate some. The last 5 it killed had no marks on them whatsoever. My husband waited at night with shotgun because 3 had survived and we knew that it would be back to kill. The killer turned out to be a big Bobcat! It was fast and crafty. Tore through chicken wire like tissue paper. Something killed off the 3 remaining chickens. Not sure if it was another bobcat or hawks. It happened during the day. 😭😭😭😤😤😭😞
I see many videos from homesteaders who never grew up on a farm and seem confused and surprised with nature. Eventually they will learn. I am sure the predators love you. I just find it strange about the emotional response.
Sorry this happened to you Troy! I know what it feels like though. I've had my chickens killed off twice. 5 the first time and 8 the second. I haven't gotten more until I make the time to build a proper coop and run for them. Hope you find out what it is and get it "taken care of". 👍😁
I would guess fox before a dog. Are feral dogs common in your neck of the woods? I saw in another video you are in W VA so I'd think a fox would be the more likely candidate. New subscriber too, btw. :)
Did you ever find out if it was a dog? Love your videos. We can't wait to find a small plot of land to put our tiny house on and start our homestead. I have a question for you and your viewers. We want to minimize the use of space while maximizing yield, taking in costs. So for our meat(geared for our family) we are thinking of rabbits and chickens. From your experience would these be the better options?😍👍🐓🐔🐇
It was a fox. Still haven't got him yet either. Rabbits or Quail can give you the quickest quality protein with the least amount of space. Rabbit manure can go straight to the garden too.
its too bad your greenhouse isnt moveable. you could do netting on either side and then move the structure across the road to then have a run in 2 more spots, totalling 4 that could re grow and help feed your chickens with bugs, grass and not as much grain. now that this has happened i would look into that type of thing. maybe just as simple as putting it on skis and winching it back and forth.
... !!!! Is it a snake, hawk, eagle or lynx? Why not put a wire cage like a tunnel for them to come out in and thru? I saw a video of guy feeding chickens, they ran out of enclosure thru the wire fence like tunnel, and he fed them. That way it protected them from predators also and they are able to run back to coop without being harmed by predators.
Nancy Fahey they and mink will hit you any time. My biggest loss was 27 to a mink over about 1/2 hour at 4pm. Carnage. You can’t believe a single animal could do it.
@@nancyfahey7518 you 100% most definitely have weasels in Florida. This is the work of a least weasel, usually only makes a wound/hole the size of a dime to get blood. They will hunt night/day due to they extremely high metabolism, they need to eat almost half there body weight daily (which really isn't a whole lot being they usually way under a pound. This is what makes them so hated they will wipe everything you have out at once and make a nice neat pile of dead critters and feed off it daily.
I have an electric fence just like yours. That did not help. I am fearful that my attack was from a domestic dog. I am seeking revenge. My job now is to catch that critter.
Last year I lost 2 of my buff orpington's to a raccoon. It got in the henhouse and tried to drag one out. Sealed up a high area where I thought it got in. Next morning I found the 2nd one. Up in the loft area of the hen house I finally found where it came in. Fixed that issue. It's as bad as a thief breaking into your house. Guess I'm going to have to train my chicks to shoot and pack a firearm. Lol
yup thats were all mine go to the pigs, as well as all the remains from killing meat birds, turkeys, steers you name it, no better feed for pigs then that, yet a chicken can walk right with them, and not even my 400Lb boar has a second look at them,, red fox do the same thing, but normally there wouldnt be one left walking
A few more of these and it will be bacon only and the occasional egg. I hate feral dogs. I even hate it worse if it is one of my own. Feral to include any animal that prays on livestock. I have shot my own as they just don't break that easy. I did tie one on the neck of a high dollar dog and he turned out to be a hunter of the hunters earning his freedom for permanent as he took out a fox an made enough disturbance for me to get a shot at and hit my predator... a chicken hawk with too heavy a load and was his own undoing. I let the dog eat the hawk an he learned more.. he got rewards for protecting his an then took it upon himself to teach his buddy a lazy house dog what to catch... that even worked and I would call bull but it happened with mine... kill all that are killers... and to what end
You want to bleed and gut them ASAP after death. Also being killed by a predator they were likely full of adrenaline, makes the meat tougher, nasty tasting. They make a fine meal for the pigs, though, and will one day eat the pigs, so in a roundabout way they will still be eaten by Troy's fam. (also who knows what disease the predator may have had, possibly even rabies)
Wow your pigs have really grown, looking good.
That sounds like weasel or mink.
If you can't trap it you might consider putting out some cans of tuna or something like that. Since you have roosters, going after your chickens in daytime is a poor prospect for a small predator that the roosters could potentially kill. They're likely going after your chickens to try to get enough food to feed babies, so if you put food out they may take that and leave the chickens alone. Of course trapping the predator would be preferable but that may be difficult this time of year.
Moving the chickens away from the woods would also help, as a small predator isn't likely to cross a field in daylight.
Yes, and put antifreeze in the tuna.
sorry for your loss...
Sorry to hear about the losses, and thank you for sharing the downs along with the ups. We learn more when we get the straight dope!
i was going to say this attack was by a stoat/weasel by the attack description
I suspect it was a dog as well. I inherited a little Pomeranian/Pekinese dog about 25 years ago from my sister. She had to get rid of him because he was thinning out her chickens. He only weighed about 5 to 8 lbs. But he could kill a much larger hen than he was.
Crazy times my friend. Sorry that happened
Wow, that really sucks. We have way too many predators here to let our chickens not be fenced in. we just had a fox come in the other day and he did not have a good night after that. Sorry for your loss Troy.
Puncture marks on the neck? Definitely a chupacabra 😱. Night vision scope and a good rifle will take care of the situation.
Troy, I am very sorry to hear of this tragedy. In our central PA area, predators have become the main chicken concern. I’m down to two free ranging hens, who now stay on my kitchen porch, not a good idea I don’t recommend it! I hope your new safety measures will be effective for your working ladies.
sorry for your loss troy
Sorry to hear about the issues. Hope you solve the predator issue quickly. Springtime is always the worst for varmints.
farming in predator country in north idaho here. no losses only because we run 3 livestock guardian dogs. I can't imagine farming without them. they keep a predator island around our 100 acres. sorry for your loss friend.
I’m so sorry you went through this.
I'm in Upstate South Carolina. Just lost 3 today to a fox. It didn't eat any of them. I lost 4 the same way a couple of months ago. Mine free range, but I need to re-think my setup. I've lost a few to hawks as well. Great video.
Get those double coil spring sets out there asap. I always hate having bad days like this. Good luck.
The predator will surely return for more.
I’m so sorry for the loss of your chickens.
So sorry for your loss, amen...
Tragic. Been there. So traumatic.
Would a border collie or Donkey help protect that henhouse?
well, if it is a dog, and you can find it, pretty sure the pigs would take care of that evidence as well....just sayin....
Exactly
Sorry for your loss Dogs can be the worse at times
I feel your pain, had four new females 7 weeks old in a small coop next to my laying hens coop helping introduce them to each other. Went to water them 10 days ago something had torn into the coop and killed 3 golden comets, the production red got away. Put the red in another coop in the same area, put up a trail camera, two days later something tried to get back into the red. I pulled the sd card an watched it, a large husky dog was the culprit, never seen the dog in our area before. The dog was back yesterday trying to get in again, called the animal control officer, he said to use what ever method needed to protect my livestock!
It is always a blessing when all those questions are answered for us. Then you can put it too bed. I hope you catch something on the cam's. With a creek there I am thinking like @R A suggested it is an aquatic fur demon like a weasel, mink or something. Dog was my first thought but when you mentioned the creek and a distant memory of loosing 40 chickens and ducks in our old MN homestead to a little weasel bastard, then have him come back the next night and take more. LOL, funny memory was cleaning out the massacre and my lovely wife thinking there was a kitten under this old door we had in there when she realized it was the weasel! LOL, Boy was there a lot of yelling and scrambling for my little .410. LOL! Daisy treed it and I peppered it until it played possum. Good times!
Clearly the WV Chupacabre.
I'm so sorry. I hope most of them make their way back.
Sounds like the work of a weasel. Dogs or fox would leave some tracks behind. Weasels will kill for sport and they are small enough to get into a lot places. They don't quit either.
I’m so sorry
I am so sorry. We have to protect our chickens from predators above and below: eagles, falcons, coyotes, weasels mostly. My Dogs help with their presence still...its an ongoing effort. Hearts to you.
So sorry someone's dogs killed your hens. Some people just don't understand how letting thier dogs out to play can be devastating to someone else.
Sorry about the loss of your chickens Troy it act and sounds like a dog .probably a young dog excited about the chase and then on to the next one
I feel for you dude. Raccoon got my first flock in just a day. Let them out in the morning before work, came home to three dead. Went to go put them up for the evening and the rest were gone.
We had same situation! Killed 23 chickens and ate some. The last 5 it killed had no marks on them whatsoever. My husband waited at night with shotgun because 3 had survived and we knew that it would be back to kill. The killer turned out to be a big Bobcat! It was fast and crafty. Tore through chicken wire like tissue paper.
Something killed off the 3 remaining chickens. Not sure if it was another bobcat or hawks. It happened during the day. 😭😭😭😤😤😭😞
Predators will keep coming around , sorry for lost.😔😔
Sorry to hear about this Troy. On a different note the facial hair is looking good.
I see many videos from homesteaders who never grew up on a farm and seem confused and surprised with nature. Eventually they will learn. I am sure the predators love you. I just find it strange about the emotional response.
There is not way to have chickens safe without a LGD.
Sorry this happened to you Troy! I know what it feels like though. I've had my chickens killed off twice. 5 the first time and 8 the second. I haven't gotten more until I make the time to build a proper coop and run for them. Hope you find out what it is and get it "taken care of". 👍😁
a guardian dog or two would help you Greatly.
Wow where did all those pigs come from?😂😂😂
When I was growing up we had chicken and had raccoons do the same thing
During the day?
I hate that this happened to you. I hope you catch the culprit.
Sorry for your loss. Maybe get yourself a guard goose.
I think you have a mink fellow WVian. It will be back.
I would guess fox before a dog. Are feral dogs common in your neck of the woods? I saw in another video you are in W VA so I'd think a fox would be the more likely candidate. New subscriber too, btw. :)
A fox would leave no evidence except a few feathers
this is a classic sign of a weasel or mink
Did you ever find out if it was a dog? Love your videos. We can't wait to find a small plot of land to put our tiny house on and start our homestead. I have a question for you and your viewers. We want to minimize the use of space while maximizing yield, taking in costs. So for our meat(geared for our family) we are thinking of rabbits and chickens. From your experience would these be the better options?😍👍🐓🐔🐇
It was a fox. Still haven't got him yet either. Rabbits or Quail can give you the quickest quality protein with the least amount of space. Rabbit manure can go straight to the garden too.
Been there. Had a fox(es) crawl under netting an get 2 roosters and 3 hens. My fault for not properly securing netting.
so sorry
get a few trail cams set up.
its too bad your greenhouse isnt moveable. you could do netting on either side and then move the structure across the road to then have a run in 2 more spots, totalling 4 that could re grow and help feed your chickens with bugs, grass and not as much grain. now that this has happened i would look into that type of thing. maybe just as simple as putting it on skis and winching it back and forth.
It sounds more like a mink to me!
Why was your dog in the house?
... !!!! Is it a snake, hawk, eagle or lynx? Why not put a wire cage like a tunnel for them to come out in and thru? I saw a video of guy feeding chickens, they ran out of enclosure thru the wire fence like tunnel, and he fed them. That way it protected them from predators also and they are able to run back to coop without being harmed by predators.
That's the work of a weasel
We don't have weasels down in Florida. Aren't they night predators?
Nancy Fahey they and mink will hit you any time. My biggest loss was 27 to a mink over about 1/2 hour at 4pm. Carnage. You can’t believe a single animal could do it.
@@nancyfahey7518 you 100% most definitely have weasels in Florida. This is the work of a least weasel, usually only makes a wound/hole the size of a dime to get blood. They will hunt night/day due to they extremely high metabolism, they need to eat almost half there body weight daily (which really isn't a whole lot being they usually way under a pound. This is what makes them so hated they will wipe everything you have out at once and make a nice neat pile of dead critters and feed off it daily.
look for Bigfoot tracks they love chicken.
Kikn it in the living room doing church online!! Gangsta!!!!
I have an electric fence just like yours. That did not help. I am fearful that my attack was from a domestic dog. I am seeking revenge. My job now is to catch that critter.
Would like to know. What it was sometime
Least weasel
Bobcat.
Maybe not enough security safety u had
Is time to load the 12 gauge
Last year I lost 2 of my buff orpington's to a raccoon. It got in the henhouse and tried to drag one out. Sealed up a high area where I thought it got in. Next morning I found the 2nd one. Up in the loft area of the hen house I finally found where it came in. Fixed that issue.
It's as bad as a thief breaking into your house. Guess I'm going to have to train my chicks to shoot and pack a firearm. Lol
😢🐓
Time to smear your face up in camo paint and " LOCK AND LOAD BABY " ! !
I had some young coyotes do the same thing to my chickens
yup thats were all mine go to the pigs, as well as all the remains from killing meat birds, turkeys, steers you name it, no better feed for pigs then that, yet a chicken can walk right with them, and not even my 400Lb boar has a second look at them,, red fox do the same thing, but normally there wouldnt be one left walking
WTF.
Put up trail cams ...
A day time attack. My bet is a fox
Mink will do that and they will keep coming back....a coyote or fox would have ate it
A few more of these and it will be bacon only and the occasional egg. I hate feral dogs. I even hate it worse if it is one of my own. Feral to include any animal that prays on livestock. I have shot my own as they just don't break that easy. I did tie one on the neck of a high dollar dog and he turned out to be a hunter of the hunters earning his freedom for permanent as he took out a fox an made enough disturbance for me to get a shot at and hit my predator... a chicken hawk with too heavy a load and was his own undoing. I let the dog eat the hawk an he learned more.. he got rewards for protecting his an then took it upon himself to teach his buddy a lazy house dog what to catch... that even worked and I would call bull but it happened with mine... kill all that are killers... and to what end
I'd like it if you would sing some of the familiar church songs for the music on you posts.
A good way to spread the Word painlessly
Why isn't it good to eat for humans since it is already dead?
You want to bleed and gut them ASAP after death. Also being killed by a predator they were likely full of adrenaline, makes the meat tougher, nasty tasting. They make a fine meal for the pigs, though, and will one day eat the pigs, so in a roundabout way they will still be eaten by Troy's fam.
(also who knows what disease the predator may have had, possibly even rabies)
@@ubetchya78 to be fair rabies can only be transmitted through a bite wound, but many other diseases or pathogens are a concern.