We still have not caught the “whatever-it-is” critter that killed the chicks, but something has been running through our property. I found this first print while going up to the greenhouse and it is facing in the direction of the chicken coops…
I set my camera cover down beside it, so I could record the size of it.
Then I saw this one…
And these…
And the grand-daddy of them all…
So what do you think? Have any clue?
My guess is that it is a big dog…but maybe there is a smaller dog too?
Rosemary, Lavender and Thyme 
Oh no! So sorry to hear about the loss of your chicks! I hope you can catch the animal that did this, so sad.
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It is really frustrating when you know there is a predator out there and you can not trap him. But I’ve been told that even if you get one, another one will take it’s place. It is pretty sad…
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Looks dog like with the claws, a cat like animal would not have as pronounced toe nails… Interesting, very interesting.
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Would you say it is a pretty big dog? Your dogs are a pretty good size, do you think the paw prints are larger than their paws?
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My labs have similar sized paws judging from the pics. Your chicks, were they just killed and left? Or were some ate or missing?
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10 of them were just killed and left and two were missing, but I found two piles of feathers outside the coop.
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Hmm… Our friends had the neighbors dog kill 80 of their chickens and they were just left there dead. As if the dog enjoyed the killing… But if some were missing… Hmm… Maybe it is a coyote or neighborhood dog… But it happened at night, right? Ugh. Either way, suck! we buried chicken wire around the perimeter of the fence and coop, 12 inches down and then six inches outward, like the letter L.
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I think that is what seems so senseless about the whole thing. I would be sad to lose 2 if they ate them, but to just kill them for the fun of it? I hate it! The letter L idea sounds like a good one…We’re definitely going to have to make some improvements if I get more chicks.
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Are u thinking about getting more? Or just too devastated?
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Don’t know yet…
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It looks canine. Coyotes? Or stray dog(s)? Or pet dog? I would think it is wild if you haven’t seen it during the day. You would think if it was someone’s pet dog you would see it at all hours because it would be used to humans and not so sneaky. Probably coyote. Do you ever hear them howling at night there?
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We do, but they sound far off in the distance. I have seen one, though, years ago on the 80 acres that is just behind us. That could be why it is so hard to catch.
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Scary! Have you considered a wildlife camera? It snaps a picture on movement. Critter needs to go!!!
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We have considered a camera…but haven’t gone that route yet. The critter, or critters definitely need to be taken care of. It is scary…late last night we heard something down by the coop, As we walked down there with the flashlight we saw 2 pairs of eyes glaring at us….you’ll have to wait to hear the rest of the story… đŸ˜‰
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It looks an awful lot like my pawprints. Not me tho!!!! But the Mom Person says my prints always look so gigantic. and I’m not a gigantic girl. Coyotes usually work at night. Dogs are more apt to be out and about during the day. Here in Texas, we can call our extension agent and they come out and set snare traps. I don’t know if you have that where you are? Good luck!
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Well, sad to say, just like there are a few bad people out of a lot of good people, there are also a few bad dogs out of a lot of good dogs. I have a bit of an update on this story as we had some visitors last night. I will clue you in on the next post. đŸ™‚
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Ugh. Hope you get ’em!
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