[whitby_sam]

I had 21 goslings and 10 ducklings in a shed with an outdoor run. I went out to check on them yesterday afternoon and found one of my chickens in with them, a dead gosling (headless) and I was a gosling and a duck short. Would a chicken do this? there were also some chicken feathers outside the run but they could've been there a while.
Any thoughts?

Would a chicken eat my ducklings/goslings?

Could it have been a fox?

If so, why didn't it kill everything?

[jameslindsay]

The headless gosling does make it sound like a fox but it is strange that there wasn't more carnage. I have had my 2 three week old goslings in beside some of my hens and there was no sign of any trouble until Charlie Cockerel came along. Sorry to hear of your loss, I hope you get to the bottom of it.

Actually just remembered you wrote you were a gosling and duck short so if the hen you discovered in their run was responsible what did she do with all the left overs if she ate them??? I think this rules out the chicken killer theory?

[shetlandpaul]

a chicken will eat dead and dying things but it does seem extreme for a chuck. it may have been a lesser hunter a cat likes to eat heads.

[doganjo]

How secure is your run?  A fox would need space to get in.  A cat can get in a smaller space.  Rats can get in an even smaller opening.

[whitby_sam]

One of our cats was on a bird killing spree yesterday, I saw her with a blue tit and a sparrow so it is possible... The run has a 4ft high fence around it so potentially a fox could have jumped over. There are 5 (almost) full grown ducks in there too but i doubt it would've been them.

Also the cat wouldn't take on a chicken and where are the other bodies?

12 bore time I think...

[doganjo]

Or cover the run.

[shetlandpaul]

we lost most of our goslings last year to crows and sea gulls. so i would raise the fence and cover it. there is nowt worse than seeing them vanish one by one.

[Wizard]

I've always promoted one WS

[whitby_sam]

I found the missing gosling in the shed with its neck broken but no sign of the duckling...

[doganjo]

That is strange, doesn't really sound like a fox, does it?

[whitby_sam]

Just came home to find a Badger in mid attack on a chicken! I've brought her inside (still alive) and put her under a heat lamp but she's got a broken wing and is missing a lot of feathers. Not sure what to do with the wing, its floppy and she's unable to move it. I'm wondering whether it may be kinder to cull her. There's no blood anywhere but she's obviously in pain and probably in shock.

Up until now I liked badgers but now I'm bloody livid! Are they protected in as much as they can come and take my livestock and I can't do a bloody thing about it? I've got fencing all around my land and short of chewing through it or burrowing under it I can't see how they're getting in... I also heard a vixen while I was out looking for the badger so it seems things are against me at the moment.

[Wizard]

No they are not.They are a menace and they are not exempt to both barrels if they are killing your stock.Around about here they are as big a menace as the fox but they dissapear with no one saying anything.There is quite a few suffer from road kill and it can make a mess of your car.Like a lot more things the "Bunny Hugging Brigade" that really knows nothing about them have got in on the act.These beautiful creatures should not be persecuted.You should let them ravage your stock and do nothing.They think Do not draw the conclusion I support Badger Baiting or the likes I am against any form of animal cruelty, but they certainly need a cull.

[whitby_sam]

The more I think about it the more I think it might've been a fox. I only thought it was a badger because of the height its reflected eyes were off the ground. It could easily have been a fox with its head down.
We have regular badger visitors. They dig for pig nuts (delicious!) and pinch the occasional egg but they've never taken a chicken. We work nights 2 days a week and as the nights are getting lighter its been more and more difficult to get the chooks in before we go out, to the point that we now just put them in when we get home.
We usually leave one of the dogs out to look out for them but recently he's been more interested in galavanting up the village than doing his job!

I need advice on how to treat the chook with the broken wing please. I'm tempted to wrap a bandage around both wings to hold them both in place (only one's broken) or would some form of splint be a better bet. The way things are at the moment (we've just lost a lot of money's worth of stock to the fox) I could do without a hefty vets bill if its something I can treat myself. I also don't want her to suffer and will find the money if a vet is necessary!

[shetlandpaul]

if its just a standard red hen it would be kinder to kill her. however if you are wanting to try to cure her. you will need to know if its broken or dislocated. if the second kill. you then need to know that the blood is still reaching her wing properly. if not kill. if the bone is lined up you will need to splint it some how. wait a few weeks and see. but unless its avery valued pet there is only one option.

i doubt you can shoot badgers legaly. they are highly protected. you would need to talk to defra. there are badger fences available. but i bet they are expensive.

[shrekfeet]

kill the chicken with the broken wing - it's really not worth the trouble
Shoot the badger - make sure no one is around and don't tell anyone
Get a chain and chain the dog by the pen on the nights you are away