07/28/2024
Update 2.0: one coyote is no longer a problem…hopefully it will serve as a deterrent for all other coyotes to stay away!
Update: now down to 46…we have been holding steady at 46 now for a few days. We have found a coyote getting too close and looking for a free meal. Hopefully we have scared it off so we can keep the rest of the flock safe.
Very sad news here on the ranch…a predator has been picking off my flock over the last 2 weeks. I am now down to only 52 in my adult coop, originally 115-ish. Just since Monday, I have lost 15. Most of the recent losses have been my rooster. Something is getting to them without leaving any markings or wounds. I found 4 intact bodies near to coop this evening and only 2 spots in the field where it appears to be a massacre with only a few feathers remaining. The coop is completely secure from dusk to dawn and I haven’t heard or seen anything that could be doing this. When I approached the coop this evening, I was shocked to see one hen that appeared to be dead right at the base of the man door of the coop, but she was not dead!!! I scooped her up and put her in the coop er room with dry bedding, food and water. She has a dime sized hole under her wing and that wing looks broken as she won’t hold it up “in place” and it makes her fall over as it’s not helping to balance her weight. After getting my kids to bed I went out to make sure everything was all locked up and do another headcount, and Lucky had laid a fresh super green egg in the coop er. Hoping she can heal and overcome the issues. Might be setting up cameras and moving the coop much closer to the house for wifi range for the foreseeable future. Not happy I’m having to do this, but I can’t take the losses anymore. My poor chickens 🥺
