Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

wammy77

tru wrote: »

Morning all.

Princess Skint A Lot has a big chicken problem, could anyone help her out? I have chickens but I have no idea how to help. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2989106

Has anyone experienced dead birds with holes in their necks? Princess has posted on above thread....

mardatha

Weasels kill this way and so do stoats. Mink do too but will eat the carcass.

Mojisola

I'm glad we don't have weasels! It must be so difficult to keep them out of a chicken run and house.

mardatha

Murderous things, and you can take a baby before its eyes open and it still will never tame. My ex-neighbour was a gamekeeper LOL - I know all sorts of weird things !

skipton

Sorry to hear about your chickens. My neighbour had his chickens killed by Mink. They got into his henhouse through a tiny hole. He had to trap them in the end as they came back a few nights running.

Another forum that has some good advice is Omlet. http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/

You'll need to get a friend for the last chicken as she will be lonely.

Minette23

OP, how is your remaining chicken? any further progress in the investigation??

Minette23

I found a hawk in the hen house today!! It had followed a little wild bird that had ventured in to eat the chicken food, and had promptly torn its head off, gross. Thankfully OH came to the rescue with thick gloves and caught the hawk (which was panicking and couldnt find the way out). Do you think a hawk would ever attack a chicken though? we have one small silkie hen and i'm abit worried for her now, we do have 2 cockrels that are used to taking on cats and are big feathery bullies.

Merci, Minette

mardatha

You know those runs that are are long cages about 3ft high and fix onto the front of the coop ? How do you clean the coop out with them in the way ?

Gigervamp

My one fixes on with a couple of catches, so it can be taken off easily, but the coop I have has a slide out floor and a back door, so I clean mine from the back.

Gigervamp

Minette23 wrote: »

I found a hawk in the hen house today!! It had followed a little wild bird that had ventured in to eat the chicken food, and had promptly torn its head off, gross. Thankfully OH came to the rescue with thick gloves and caught the hawk (which was panicking and couldnt find the way out). Do you think a hawk would ever attack a chicken though? we have one small silkie hen and i'm abit worried for her now, we do have 2 cockrels that are used to taking on cats and are big feathery bullies.

Merci, Minette

Buzzards and sparrow hawks have been known to take chickens. I guess it depends on the size of the hawk. I have two silkie bantams so I do worry when the local buzzards are flying over, but luckily my garden has a lot of tree cover.