Awww, how sad, sorry to hear that!

Poor chickens.

There's no way to add more hardware cloth and get more chickens? It sounds like you have a fabulous setup for them, I bet they were fun to watch.

Sue, Im so sorry. I know how much those little guys meant to you.

I'm so sorry to hear that. Sometimes nature is hard. And chickens can be surprisingly entertaining with different personalities.

A friend is still keeping a few, but she has a Rottweiler that thinks they are her flock and she guards them, going into her own unlocked dog house by the coop at night (weather is mild enough here she doesn't need a heated space). I'm not sure my friend could have garden (deer) or the chickens (coyotes and raccoons) without the dog. The times I've been asked to drive out and feed them, I've found the dog between me and the chickens - until she's been reminded with a treat and some conversation that I'm OK.

Maybe one day someone will help you secure that outside pen against corner digging and you'll want to try again. Won't you miss the eggs?

I got out of the chickens and egg laying very similar. It does mess with one, doesn't it. Glad the remaining hen had another place to go to.

Moni

I am so sorry!

Mother nature is pretty cruel. My brothers had chickens when we were growing up. Something got in the pen and bit them all in the neck, but didn't eat them. We think maybe it was a weasel.

Oh how awful.

When I was 10 years old, about 60 years ago, my father decided to raise chickens for eggs and meat for our family of 7. He got day-old chicks, 100 of them, built a nice chicken house and large run for them. They were about half-grown when one morning there was a terrible ruckus outside. Dad glanced out of his bedroom window and saw the situation, grabbed his shotgun and high-tailed it to the hen yard. Two very large neighborhood dogs had jumped the 6-ft fence and were slaughtering those chickens. Dad let loose with some buckshot (birdshot??) to scare them off -- he'd never have shot the dogs. Cleanup was a dreadful process, only 14 hens and one rooster had survived. Dad had to kill the injured birds and then burn all the bodies. Mum kept all five of us kids far from the scene. It was the only time I ever saw my dad cry.

But it's knowing about that weak point in the coop that gives you the experienced to fix it or make a better home for them. For example, I never knew that possums could eat one of my quails somehow by using the 1" hex hole opening of a typical chicken coop wire. (The birds like to sleep near the edge of the coop, probably thinking that having their back or side to a wall was good, right?) After realizing that, I added the 1/4" wire to the bottom 12" of the coop and have not had a similar incident again.

I'm so sorry. I'm sure you knew every chicken's little habits and personality. Very sad for the poor critters. Maybe you'll get more chickens at another time, but for now just let yourself settle down and put this awful experience behind you.. I know you have enjoyed them.

Oh Sue, as soon as I saw the heading, I knew what had happened. Those poor chickens. We have coyotes here in the city, and they often get small dogs who are let out in the yard alone.

I can see why you wouldn't want to go through that again, it's far too hard emotionally.

Sorry to hear!

I remember the day my grandmother and I found every one of her chickens, dead. Coyotes. :( It was so sad.

You suspect it was a coyote attack during the day. If it had been a night time attack, suspect skunks.

This is so sad. I feel sorry for the poor chickens, and you must feel bad too. I enjoyed your postings about them.

So sorry. Sounds like a very nice set up. Take some time before making any decisions.

So sorry Sue.

I'm so sorry, Sue. I don't know where you live, but in my area there would be several possible culprits: dogs, fox, skunks, coyotes, and possums. Snakes, too, but they can't do that kind of damage. Such a shame.

I would love to have a few chickens but won't because of this very thing. We've got fire ants to contend with, too.

I am so sorry. It is never a good feeling to find animals that have died. I have lost chickens so far to owls, a dog, and a weasel. Luckily not an entire flock and we were able to make changes and stop the attacks, but I do feel your pain. I am sorry it has soured chicken raising for you!

Thank you everyone for your kind comments. I don't know if I shall get more baby chicks or not. Amber will probably get some this spring and I told her she could raise them up in the hen house. It is very secure. The screen house would be if we put more hardware cloth down and maybe some rocks around on the outside over the dirt. Too bad I did not have the camera set up outside to see what happened. Have it out there now and may check it this weekend to see if anything came around. I did not go out to see how big of holes were dug or the damage that was caused. We have more snow on the ground. When I had my son in law to build my chicken house I had it built so it could in time be used for a storage shed if I wanted, the roosts can come out easily and the vinyl flooring taken out and the walls cleaned and it will be nice again. It has a nice big wooden cabinet that hangs on the wall the full size of a double row of nests. Has an outlet that when a heat lamp is plugged into it it will kick on at 35 degrees and kick off at 45. It has the automatic door closure too on the pop door. It also has two screened sliding glass windows, one on the west and another on the east side. It is also insulated. I have a remote control to turn the outside lights off and on from the house, makes it really handy. I let Alyssa chose the color of paint for it, so it is pretty pink with white trim. The screen house is very nice too. If I feel up to tending to them in the spring, I might start over. I will wait and see.

Sue

I'm sorry about your chickens. Have had the same thing happen here. What a nice set up you have. Such a shame. We've had coyotes, bob cats, raccoons and dogs to kill chickens here.

So, so sorry Marilyn Sue. That had to be devastating!

Very sorry to hear of this carnage. I would very much love to have chickens. Not sure if town's ordinances allow. I've had a beehive for 25 years but never actually asked if I could.. I know you get attached to your little biddies and I would be devastated. I lost my prize koi years ago from a heron and still think about that. I hope you start over.

Sorry about your chickens, Sue. I enjoyed hearing about them since it reminds me of growing up on the farm.

Happened to me as well. My culprit was always a raccoon ...I hate them with a passion. They kill one, take a bite and go kill another...I think it is just a sport for them.

So sad, Sue. And it seems that you were doing all the right things to make a safe home for them.

I've always heard you need to put wire fencing underneath the soil too and wire it to the side walls so nothing can dig in.

if you really enjoy them .....don't give up.

sorry this happened.

I am sorry to hear you lost your chickens. My DD lost hers to the dog they had. Do you have raccoons? They will also dig in. When we built our chicken pen, hubby put hardware cloth about 12 inches down in the soil all the way around the pen. We also had them completely enclosed and yes we had coyotes, lynx, mountain lions and raccoons. Guess we were lucky Also when you get babies, watch the squirrels they will dig in and get the babies. This happened to a neighbor.

I really do want to try my own chicks and make eggs. I am sorry, and I do know it happens, and no human is to blame. Will try. I know there are coyotes in this region. I HOPE to do what I can protect.

Sad that it happened. it's annoying, but then again it is nature. And it shows how creative animals can be. They'll often find the weakness in a security system! Wild animals have to be pretty smart to survive.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

It is heart breaking, I experienced the same thing, only it was a family of fishers that got mine, nothing left but a few feathers. I got very attached to them even tho I only had them a few months. I am very hesitant to try again.....sigh

When spring comes, I hope to read that you've revisited this -- and perhaps decided to begin again. Kind of a shame to let this lovely setup turn into just a shed, and your DGD has enjoyed the experience so much!

I'm sorry this happened to you, Sue. Nature appears so cruel to us, sometimes.