Predators are the bane of any farmer. They're random, ruthless, and in the case of attacks involving domestic animals, so preventable with a little common sense and courtesy. Here is a listing of predator incidents involving my animals, and how I dealt with them.
March/April, 2005
"The Great Possum War of '05"
Incident: I found one of the chicks in the nursery half eaten. Something burrowed under the chicken wire that overlaps onto the floor and attacked only one chick, eating just the legs and thighs and leaving a disgusting mess to clean up. I found later that two other chicks were completely missing.
Action: Blocked off predator entrance into nursery with a heavy drainage tile. Locked up Cleo the barn cat. Set out the big trap baited with a small tin of cat food. Found a possum in the trap the next morning. Disposed of possum. The attacks continued so I set out the trap a second time and trapped a second possum. The attacks stopped for a while, and then one evening after dark, I found a meat bird dead by the door to an unused stall in the barn. The possum that tried to drag it in for a private meal was still in the stall. It was disposed of, and there have been no further attacks to date.
Related Posts: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5
February/March, 2005
Incident: A stray cat shows up and begins going into the chicken coop. Is occasionally caught sleeping in a nest box. Not seen as a threat to the chickens, but may be a threat to incoming chicks. Action: Locked up the barn cat and set out a live trap baited with a tin of cat food. The offender was caught and put out of its misery. Related Posts: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4November, 2004
Incident: A hawk tries to carry off one of the hens and finds it has bitten off more than it can chew. Action: More vigilant about looking for airborne predators. Related Posts: 1September, 2004
Incident: A pack of dogs attack a hen. A rooster wades into the fray, saving the hen, but getting killed in t he process. The hen later dies from complications of the attack. Action: Looking out for signs of stray dogs, keeping a loaded gun handy, keeping a larger than normal number of roosters with the hens. Related Posts: 1July, 2004 - #2
Incident: A possum shows up at night, helping itself to cat food and eating any eggs that the hens laid outside of the coop. Action: Planned to get a trap, but changed feeding habits of the cat and was more vigilant about policing up stray eggs. The possum disappeared before I could get a trap. Related Posts: 1July, 2004 - #1
Incident: One of the New Hampshire Reds disappears. All that is ever found are a few feathers on the ground near one of the barn outbuildings. Action: Originally blamed on the possum (see July, 2004 - 2). Now realize that this was a hawk attack, and that the rest of the Red was carried off (see November, 2004) Related Posts: 1March, 2004
Incident: I forgot to latch the "goat gate" on the chicken coop and the two wethers got in and ate a week's worth of chicken feet. Action: More vigilant about latching the gate. Took a small bit of glee in the fact that the goats were obviously sick to their stomachs after their little binge. Related Posts: 1© 2004 - 2005 by Joe Clifford Faust
