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I am a 42 year old woman that is about as happy and content as one person can be. My husband of 21 years and our 15 year old daughter live on five and a half acres out in the country. We moved from the city four years ago and never looked back. I homeschool our daughter. We also love our animals. Our daughter has a miniature horse and two rabbits. We also have a border collie, two cats (again), two pot belly pigs, four peafowl, three emus, 2 llamas and an undetermined number of chickens, lets just say ohhh about 200. I have many breeds, from layers to fancy chickens. I love poultry shows, I love fowl in general as I have come to find out through having more than just chickens. Chickens will always be my first love though. I do show some of my birds occasionally.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Two More Gone

Half of my hatch out in the grow pen. That is what is gone now. Yesterday afternoon I saw a white tuft in the front yard. Slowly regretting every step to what I would find, I walked to it. Sure enough..there lay the wings and various other parts dismembered from the second silkie baby. The only two I hatched from my newer silkies are now gone, dead.

Before finding this massacre I spotted a light colored tuft in the grass out back. This was another young serama I had raised. Dead. Fully intact, but with a neck wound.

I always try to look at the bright side of things. Thank goodness the two young sultans had not been taken.

I spent the better part of the evening before dark wiring a fifty foot roll of chicken wire around the bottom half of the grow out pen.

I am not so sure that the neighbors dog is the culprit.

There is something else that puzzles me to no end. When I find the bodies, not parts, but full bodies...they are on a fire ant hill. Why do you suppose this is? It wouldnt be strange for it to happen once, but this has happened three times now.

I think it is a cat, or a fox, well actually it could be anything. What is happening is this.

Whatever is coming, and it is during the day, because the babies are all in a covered corner at night and wouldnt be scared of whatever is trying to get them...is spooking the smaller ones to the point of them squeezing out of the wire. They are in such a panic, they are trying to get away, when actually they are going right into the jaws of whatever is after them.

That is why none of the bigger ones have been killed. They can't fit through the wire.

I want to continue to use the grow out pen. I have many more chicks in the house that will eventually need to go out there. I can't put them out there with this happening. So I hope putting the chicken wire around the bottom half of the pen will keep the chicks in and the predator from grabbing at them or scaring them out of the pen.

So, now I am down to three serama, two sultans and seven of my chicks I invented. Along with the ten polish and five americauna and the one buff.

It looks so empty in there. So empty.

 

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is strange. I wonder if you have a weasel around there. They create havok like that by only puncturing the neck and sucking the blood out of them. Something similiar to that made a hole under one of our big chicken houses and slung and killed seven grown pullet chickens and slung the blood all over the walls. Did not eat on them though just the punctures in the neck. I covered up the hole which was not very big but I was afraid it would make another one but it never did. I am not certain but I think minks will do that also. I hope you find out what the culprit is soon. You may end up having to get a security camera and put out there to see what is going on. Helen

Anonymous said...

This is awful.  I agree with Helen below that maybe a security camera is the best way to go.  This is so sad.  I hurt for your loss as I know it saddens you especially since you raised them from the beginning.  

Nelishia
http://journals.aol.com/nelishianatl/Prayingandbelieving/

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry this has happened again.  I know you have probably thought of everything but how about an airborne predator...hawk or owl?  That is what took all of ours.  We would find the bodies all over the place, it was horrible.  I hope the chicken wire helps.  I would set up your video camera and see if it catches anything as other suggested.  I feel so bad for you & your guys.
xx
Lisa

Anonymous said...

I was hesitant to open this entry cause I knew it was gonna be bad news!  This just makes me sick, I feel so bad for you!  What else can you do to protect them?

Anonymous said...

Maybe thru air travel?  I cannot fathom this. I am so very sorry. Other words really escape me.
~Mary

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your chicks Kelly.  Hopefully the chicken wire will keep the rest of them safe.
Vicki in Birmingham

Anonymous said...

This must be driving you crazy, I know it would me. I hope you solve the mystery soon and can put a stop to this horrible THING. Paula

Anonymous said...

Hmmm Could it be that the chickens are eating the fire ants?? What about an electric wire at the bottom of the pen?  Could it be a possum? A possum killed my uncle's little dog. Is there any way you could go out and check on the hour? How about sitting up your video with an extension cord? A baby monitor for sound? One guy told my husband he uses a baby monitor in the barn when his colts are due. Sure hope you find out what it is. If it is the dog.. it will have blood on it so the neighbors should know that their dog is killing something. My neighbor shot my white German Shepherd to pay for the vet bill of his mare. Said my dog ate the placenta of his mare. Wanted us to pay the vet bill for checking the horse.. make sure she did not have the placenta inside her. He made the mistake of picking her up (in our field but could not prove it) taking her to the vet and they checked her and she was clean. I could have sued him for shooting my dog. Janie

Anonymous said...

Oh Kelly this is so Sad ~ I really feel so upset for you ~ Hope you get to the bottom of who or what is killing your chicks ~ Ally x

Anonymous said...

OH NO Not again!  Those poor babies!  I bet it is a cat they are prob jumping all over it scaring them out.  That makes me so scared. I hope mine are safe at night being locking in our Hen house!  I hope nothing can chew through plywood!  We have the house up on blocks so anything can go under there.  Maybe I could seal it with some cement!  I sure hope you can stop those predators soon!  

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