r/animalid • u/f_crick • Sep 23 '24
Darn thing ate our favorite chicken 🐯🐱 UNKNOWN FELINE 🐱🐯
Spotted them here coming back for more right in the middle of the day.
695
u/JorikThePooh 🦠 WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST 🦠 Sep 23 '24
Bobcat
219
u/f_crick Sep 23 '24
Will it travel away after a few days?
494
u/Pearl-2017 Sep 23 '24
Not if there is a food source. Reenforce your coup
366
u/f_crick Sep 23 '24
Coop and run are fine - they’d been let out in the open when it attacked :(
344
u/outxfmyhead Sep 23 '24
I’m sorry about your chickens :(
251
u/Rico-L Sep 23 '24
This is an underrated comment…. Yes I think a lot of us failed to recognize that OP mentioned they lost their favorite chicken 😞
29
u/spaceguyy Sep 24 '24
It's always the favorite that gets killed.
12
u/RandomPlayer314 Sep 24 '24
How do they know...
29
u/augustbluemoon Sep 24 '24
They can smell the extra love, I'm sure of it
21
u/KenIgetNadult Sep 24 '24
When the extra ingredient is love, you know it just tastes better.
(Sorry for your chicken OP).
→ More replies7
12
u/envelopelope Sep 24 '24
I wonder if the favorite gets too domesticated and has a less intense prey drive.
→ More replies2
u/Excellent_Jaguar_675 Sep 25 '24
That sucks. I have had that happen. Then had a great Pyrenees and no more predation
156
u/Pearl-2017 Sep 23 '24
You need to invest in a highly trained guardian dog
95
u/fentifanta3 Sep 23 '24
Or an alpaca!
53
u/Calgary_Calico Sep 23 '24
Really? You can use alpacas as guard animals? That's awesome!
63
u/Smax140 Sep 24 '24
Along the lines of weird guard animals... Apple Farmers in Japan have a problem w Monkeys attacking their orchards. Soze they use Turkeys to guard the bottoms of the trees.
19
49
u/BleedTheRain Sep 24 '24
Kinda like a donkey, its capable of turning small predators into a literal meat pancake.
9
u/KnightDiver381 Sep 24 '24
I saw cannabis farmers in Jamaica use them as lookouts. The farmers would grow on top of the mountain and they’d leave their donkeys lower down the mountain to raise the alarm if anyone started to come up behind them. Neat animals!
7
u/ReallyNotBobby Sep 24 '24
Donkeys can be proper assholes but yeah they can absolutely stomp and bite the hell out of a fair few predators.
3
u/browneyedgirlpie Sep 24 '24
Reminds me of the video where the donkey was carrying a goat around in his mouth
→ More replies54
u/Shadsea2002 Sep 24 '24
Alpacas are powerful and dangerous animals.
12
u/Narrow_Obligation_95 Sep 24 '24
Cougars are their main predators in Peru.
19
u/D3lacrush 🦕🦄 GENERAL KNOW IT ALL 🦄🦕 Sep 24 '24
And the cougars get their shit kicked in 50% of the time
2
u/Excellent_Jaguar_675 Sep 25 '24
Llamas can send them flying. They are larger and taller than alpaca. We adopted an elderly gentleman Llama and he was awesome! The sheep and goats loved him!
36
u/Top_Conversation1652 Sep 24 '24
Yeah, but then you have to buy a rhino to keep the Alpacas in the line.
It never stops.
8
5
10
u/stickynote_oracle Sep 24 '24
Llamas and alpacas are like security guards but they feel like they are the GOAT secret service for your farm animal friends. They join the home-group and will defend their pack fearlessly.
2
7
u/lol_alex Sep 24 '24
Or a donkey! Although Alpacas are cooler and you can use their wool.
9
u/PublicfreakoutLoveR Sep 24 '24
I happen to love my donkey-wool socks.
4
u/lol_alex Sep 24 '24
Now I am imagining someone having to shear an uncooperative donkey…
You probably just brush them when they shed, right?
2
14
5
→ More replies3
u/Excellent_Jaguar_675 Sep 25 '24
Yes! A mini donkey, alpaca, llama or guardian dog. Even a couple large geese can do it!
130
Sep 23 '24
when there is easily accessible food where there are predators, the predators will take advantage of the easily accessible food.
we gotta remember this is their home, and respect them. i do hope you can keep your chickens safe, but sacrifices will continue to be made. it’s just the way it is.
→ More replies→ More replies5
Sep 24 '24
There are several things you can do to deter it from coming back
https://www.google.com/search?q=Bobcat+deterrents&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari
20
u/Iotternotbehere Sep 24 '24
They generally are crepuscular hunters, so early morning and early evening, if that helps you prepare.
11
4
u/PoemAgreeable Sep 24 '24
We used that info, and only let our chickens out during mid-day. And if there's a predator around, we keep them in for a day or two. We have lost about 5 in 2.5yr. But we hatched a lot more than that, at least 20. We give the extra away to people who want chickens. And we just factor predator losses into our plans for the flock.
21
u/saint0r Sep 23 '24
Nope, it's gonna keep coming back.
7
u/Narrow_Obligation_95 Sep 24 '24
Sorry about your chickens. We have a raccoon problem. Lost 2 buck goats to mountain lion right after very deep snow.
→ More replies18
u/Calgary_Calico Sep 23 '24
Nope. It knows there's a good source nearby so it will definitely be back. You'll need to secure your coop more now that you know he's there
→ More replies7
u/0MysticMemories Sep 24 '24
They travel long distances but because it found food it may return a week from now or a year from now or everyday.
Do not let your chickens out in the open unless you are out there with them or someone is there to supervise them and deter predators like this bobcat.
→ More replies3
199
u/ExtinctFauna Sep 23 '24
Bobcat. Chicken is their favorite food.
→ More replies15
u/500SL Sep 23 '24
Is it, though?
86
u/Lojackbel81 Sep 23 '24
Bob likes easy meals so yes
→ More replies35
u/500SL Sep 23 '24
Well, I’m not denying their attraction, but I do wonder how much their habitat normally overlaps with domesticated chickens.
I like Taco Bell myself, but I’ve got to travel a good ways to find one.
41
u/CormoranNeoTropical Sep 23 '24
All the time, since people started bringing chickens into their habitat several hundred years ago.
11
u/Nutarama Sep 24 '24
Chickens also tend to be curious and free ranging if they can. One of my brother’s flock when he had them was a fine chicken except she knew so many ways out that you couldn’t keep her in. Eventually we had to give up and just accept one chicken living in the forest.
The rest would leave if they could, but mostly because they liked going into the forest for earthworms and grubs and tubers more than pellet feed. They also liked hanging out in trees, it’s funny to see them all jump up branch to branch and turn a big pine tree into something like a Christmas tree where the ornaments are chickens.
Anyone keeping chickens will inevitably just have some that don’t come back from getting out or being free ranged. The outside is dangerous for chickens. That cause might be bobcat, might be coyotes, might be dogs, might be hawks, might even be your neighbor. Usually not domestic cats, but that’s typically because a chicken can fight a domestic cat and mess the cat up. Cats will go for chicks and juveniles though, along with sleeping chickens.
→ More replies20
u/OneLessDay517 Sep 23 '24
Considering bobcats tend to avoid highly populated areas, and most people who keep chickens do as well, I'd say they are likely to bump into one another.
3
→ More replies2
u/2HiSped4u Sep 27 '24
Well bobcats also hunt wild birds, and opportunistically any other animals from rodents to house cats (source: I used to care for bobcats at a wildlife education center, specifically in preparing their meat diets).
You like taco bell and may have to drive far for it, but you most certainly eat some combination of meat, cheese, vegetables, and starch on the daily.
Also, with encroaching housing developments like here in Appalachia, popularization of rearing foul, and the historic natural range of bobcats, I’d venture to say that most all bobcats share territory with chickens.
→ More replies→ More replies15
u/ExtinctFauna Sep 23 '24
Well, bobcats, coyotes, hawks, and raccoons are frequent attackers of chickens, so me saying that chicken is their favorite food is more of a "You have a bobcat problem" thing.
→ More replies
161
u/wobble-frog Sep 23 '24
circle of life and all that. Bobcats are protected most places.
if you are going to have free range chickens, you are going to lose some to bobs, coyotes, foxes, weasels and housecats.
pretty danger floof.
50
u/Sad-Bus-7460 Sep 24 '24
Hawks and eagles will also divebomb and take chickens, too
19
u/Bacontoad Sep 24 '24
Raccoons will drag them from any roost they can climb up to. 🦝
7
u/Sad-Bus-7460 Sep 24 '24
Yep, and ime they'll twist the head off and leave the rest of the bird behind for no reason
5
u/JustGusAppointed Sep 24 '24
pretty danger floof
I love that its head is pretty well camouflaged against the bark, but the body is like “Nah, this works when we’re in trees… during the Fall.”
→ More replies20
u/f_crick Sep 23 '24
Apparently you can get a license to hunt them (1) here sometimes but I’m not gonna do that so I didn’t look into the details.
→ More replies
151
u/GonnaKostya Sep 23 '24
Sorry about your chicken but that is one beautiful creature!
→ More replies
41
u/ZookeepergameIcy5722 Sep 23 '24
Sorry for your loss. You are going to have to keep your chickens in the run for a while, if not indefinitely. I had a bobcat problem, and it kept coming back. Carried off 2 hens, over 6ft fence with an electric wire. Chickens are now kept in a highly secure coop and run. Chickens are prey animals, so getting killed happens. It would suit you to look up predators in your area so you can figure out how to protect your animals and property. Good luck.
6
u/CaptainObvious110 Sep 24 '24
Good advice. Just sad that OP didn't do this before
→ More replies9
u/wojswat Sep 24 '24
it's a lack of knowledge, most of the time sadly the only way to get rid of it is gaining life experience. After having an experience that requires more knowledge, you try to make up for that mistake (without life experience most of the time you do not even know you were making a mistake or lacking knowledge)
2
36
u/honey_bay Sep 23 '24
the first time i ever saw a bobcat was in my grandmas backyard when i was like 8.. scared the crap out of me. saw a bear in the same spot a couple years later 🤣 i know why my grandma keeps a bb gun by the door ( she is like 4’10” )
13
u/sneerfun Sep 24 '24
What’s the BB gun gunna do for a bear 😭 stay safe grandma 🫡
9
u/honey_bay Sep 24 '24
she says the noise will scare them off 😭 i think bc sometimes they’ll try to come up to her house
6
u/sneerfun Sep 24 '24
Damn grandma should get an airhorn and bear spray 😭 do BB guns make a loud noise? That’s terrifying
2
u/tattoosbyalisha Sep 27 '24
Nah but the shock of gettin stung by one might scare one off. That’s a tough hide though so who knows lol
19
u/OneImagination5381 Sep 23 '24
Time to buy some wolf urine.
11
24
u/3_high_low Sep 23 '24
I'm always shocked to see how fast they are and how they can jump. Beautiful cat.
Sorry about your chicken.
→ More replies
62
u/Raven_Black_8 Sep 23 '24
Sorry about your chicken! It also means that their coop wasn't secure to keep predators out.
63
u/f_crick Sep 23 '24
It’s secure - they just weren’t in it or the secured run :(
→ More replies60
u/0hw0nder Sep 23 '24 edited Sep 24 '24
Don't know about the size of your property, but have you considered a livestock guardian dog? Most are bred for larger livestock but with some training some puppies turn out to be amazing chicken guards.
I've also heard that you can spray faux predator urine (Puma and Wolf urine might work to deter them iirc) around the perimeter
3
u/TechDad_135 Sep 27 '24
I love this idea! Get a livestock guardian dog to guard your chickens and make the bobcat think twice before going after your chickens and any other livestock. A sheepdog, border collie, GSD, or go all out and get a 150 lb Anatolian Shepherd!
19
22
8
8
u/W8kOfTheFlood Sep 23 '24
Nature is brutal - this is why I had to stop keeping chickens - It hurt my heart too much
→ More replies
44
u/knightdream79 Sep 23 '24
Robert Feline
6
u/oregon07 Sep 23 '24
This made me laugh, I’m not sure if it’s a specific reference to a movie or something.. still funny tho
2
u/knightdream79 Sep 23 '24
It's the elongated form of bob cat :)
5
u/oregon07 Sep 23 '24
I get that, which made me chuckle enough to wake up my daughter.. but I didn’t know if it was a movie reference that went over my head lol
2
6
16
u/SplendidlyDull Sep 23 '24
All the people making jokes are rubbing me the wrong way. OP lost an animal that was important to them and it’s not really appropriate to joke about it imo. Imagine if their dog had been killed instead, how inconsiderate it would be to joke about that.
Sorry about the loss of your chickens OP. Looks like you’ve got to keep them locked up from now unless you’re there to supervise.
→ More replies
8
9
13
u/Daak1977 Sep 23 '24
I read the title fast and thought it read Darn thing ate our favorite children. Thank goodness the kids are alright. Sorry about your chicken though.
13
u/ArtisticDragonKing Sep 24 '24 edited Sep 24 '24
I'm sorry for your loss :( I reccomend purchasing some wolf urine to make her leave the space. It would likely be good to reinforce the free roam area so they are secure and safe as well.
A lot of people are saying to get a guard dog.. I STRONGLY recommend against this unless you have the money, knowledge, and ability to provide for one. Not sure why so many people think it's a good idea to reccomend a new pet when there are so many easier options!
Good luck, sorry again for your loss.
8
u/highlandflingy Sep 24 '24
It seems crazy to me that so many people suggest a guardian breed dog like it’s some sort of quick fix that you can order from Amazon. That’s such a HUGE commitment to take on!
3
u/ArtisticDragonKing Sep 24 '24
I know, my jaw dropped
Buy a really difficult breed to manage and care for! One with lots of energy that needs to go for very long walks and have more enrichment then you could ever imagine!
What???
3
u/highlandflingy Sep 24 '24
Not to mention the hours of daily training required from puppyhood onwards, vet bills, the food bill, the way you have to change your entire lifestyle to adequately provide for the needs of the dog. OR the potentially catastrophic consequences of failing to raise the dog correctly… guardian breeds are no joke!
2
u/ArtisticDragonKing Sep 24 '24
Right?!
3
Sep 24 '24
And all the people who will sell you a pitbull labeled as any number of guardian breeds.. then that thing will rip through your metal coop to kill all 30 of your chickens in the span of 15 minutes. This happened to one of my neighbors.
→ More replies
46
u/Amazing-League-218 Sep 23 '24
You can buy a chicken for $5. You can't buy a bobcat. Please protect your chickens better and leave the cat alone.
→ More replies
14
u/Sea-Department5246 Sep 23 '24
Circle of life Don’t be mad at the cat for doing what the cat does honestly, you really can’t blame him livestock produce such an abundant and easy to take down food item that natural things like predators, cats coyotes, wolves dogs, you know, feral cats and shit I mean, I’m in New Mexico and I’ve seen roadrunners kill roosters, and eat them so yeah it’s a beautiful thing to see. It’s much more beautiful when you see that it’s made of wildlife compared to domestic animals just being let out to do whatever they wanna do
3
u/CaptainObvious110 Sep 24 '24
It makes no sense to get mad at the cat when it's it's natural area to roam. Best believe the cat didn't think " hey, I think I'll make a human upset by eating their chicken".
It's sad for sure but at least there is a lesson to be learned
2
u/tattoosbyalisha Sep 27 '24
I love seeing reasonable people on posts like this. It gets real gross and disheartening how many people want to kill any and all predators on sight like they’re all some disgusting villain and not just an animal trying to live in further further dwindling habitats
→ More replies
5
22
u/Typical-Recording293 Sep 23 '24
How do you have chickens and not know what a bobcat is
→ More replies3
12
5
4
5
5
3
3
3
3
6
u/KimchiMcPickle Sep 23 '24
That bobcat is sure healthy looking, and pretty! I'm sorry about your chicken. What was her name? RIP pretty Clucker!
→ More replies11
u/f_crick Sep 23 '24
Snowflake. She was a barred rock and really sweet. She was friendly and liked following the kids around. She used to come in the garage and stare at the chicken food bag, which had a picture of a barred rock on it.
→ More replies
9
u/CaptainObvious110 Sep 24 '24
So, let me get this straight. Domestic cats are known to be one of the most destructive species on the face of the earth.
ignorant people allow their pets to roam outside to hunt with abandon.
And yet, when another member of the Felid family lives in it's natural environment all of a sudden there is a problem.
You didn't care about the countless billions of other birds your cats have destroyed but let one particular cat eat ONE bird and the world is about to end.
Make it make sense people
2
5
4
5
3
3
4
u/toolsavvy Sep 24 '24
Yeah, that Bob Cat will certainly be coming back for more. Better figure out how you're going to better secure you poultry or that cat's gonna get fat at your expense.
5
5
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/MasterMedic1 Sep 24 '24
Oh that's a big kitty, bobcat to be specific.
It'll probably linger around so as long as there's food that is accessible
2
2
u/Excellent_Jaguar_675 Sep 25 '24
Wow! Beautiful Bobcat! 😃
chickens are free ranging without a solid protective structure, then the hawks and other predators just do their thing.
Where I live, the idiots will get mad at the predator and sometimes retaliate.
2
u/WealthAggressive8592 Sep 25 '24
Congrats on adopting your new cat! Strays can be a little rambunctious at first, but with daily training (and liberal applications of spray bottle), he'll be well behaved in no time!
6
u/Amohkali Sep 23 '24
If you don't have a dog, invite a neighbor to stop by with theirs. Not to attack or bark at the bobcat, but to mark anyplace it will in your yard. That may help, costs nothing but time, and discourages the bobcat from deciding that things in yards are easy picking, eventually getting it killed by someone less interested in their well-being.
You might accomplish the same with human "scent marking". I'll let you figure out the best way to accomplish that 😁.
→ More replies
3
3
3
u/zombie-cat420 Sep 23 '24
If I were you I’d consider getting a livestock guardian dog like a Great Pyrenees, maremma, or really any sheepdog
→ More replies3
u/ArtisticDragonKing Sep 24 '24
I really don't see how reccomending a high energy and difficult breed is the best option. It's great in theory, but they take a lot of training, time, money, and you have to put in more energy than you think to ensure they are healthy.
This is really, really bad to just reccomend first. OP would have to change their entire day-to-day routine and research a lot more before considering this.
A simple cost/energy effective solution is some good ole wolf urine and securing a safer free roam spot.
→ More replies
2
2
2
u/Iotternotbehere Sep 24 '24
Why does no one know what a bobcat looks like? Really not being snarky, just wondering where to disconnect is....
3
u/D3lacrush 🦕🦄 GENERAL KNOW IT ALL 🦄🦕 Sep 24 '24
At least we're not getting "is this a fisher?" Posts every 15 minutes anymore
2
u/Sad-Bus-7460 Sep 24 '24
Robert Feline owes you some chooks
2
u/cat_herder_64 Sep 24 '24
Nah - Rob's in his natural catitat.
The chook's an interloper, albeit a delicious one. It's also a tribute...
2
2
1
1
u/BareKnuckleKitty Sep 24 '24
I’m sorry about your chicky. :( May I suggest a little memorial stone for her? Either from Etsy or you could make your own with acrylic paint markers. RIP little Snowflake.
1
u/MovieNightPopcorn Sep 24 '24
It is most definitely a bobcat. Keep your chickens secured for a while until she moves on to find better prey areas.
1
u/c0st0fl0ving Sep 24 '24
Look at its face. It wasn’t even hungry. It just wants you to swing first. Homie wants the smoke and thinks you’re soft lol.
1
u/joedev007 Sep 24 '24
There is a Boerboel (or 2) out there who would love the job of guarding a few chickens :)
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/ABelleWriter Sep 24 '24
And he is not sorry one bit
Sorry you lost your favorite chickens. That's rough.
1
1
u/PoemAgreeable Sep 24 '24
I might have lost a couple chickens to a Mr. Robert E. Cat, or his wife, Mrs. Roberta E. Cat. I ain't even mad. As long as they don't eat all of them. We can make more chickens, and bobcats are pretty critters
1
u/oclafloptson Sep 24 '24
I had one lift an enormous Muscovy drake over a 10' wall once. The drake was the size of a small goose. It's a shame but they're usually really easily deterred. You just have to convince them that there's a larger predator hanging with the birds. And idk how you can look at that thing and not think how beautiful it is, let alone want to kill it
Motion activated lighting is really effective. They want to be able to hide and will not like suddenly having lights shined on them. Motion activated voice recordings have similar effects. Simply leaving a radio on in the coop does not work long term, as I unfortunately learned, but you can find motion activated sound makers at any big box store during Halloween season
Also things that move when they shouldn't and I'm ways that are unnatural. For example a coat rack-like thing with flowy bits that's turned by wind. The unnatural movement will catch them off guard. Pretty much any sort of wind powered moving thing as long as it's not simply moving as a tree would.
1
1
u/Here_But_Gone Sep 24 '24
One thing I've learned from living in the country for over 50 years - never have a favorite chicken.
1
1
u/kaktusman36 Sep 24 '24
I had a squirrel at my property near a forest that I watched gather nuts and run in front of my trail cam for 2 years. I named him McSquizzy. Lol. He was a cool little guy. Until this past spring…..I saw McSquizzy traveling in front of the trail cam in the mouth of a bobcat. McSqizzy is no more, but I did notice a new squirrel the other day, McSquizzy 2.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
•
u/Wildwood_Weasel 🦦 Mustelid Enthusiast 🦡 Sep 23 '24
I can't wait to wake up to this tomorrow and ban the inevitable 30 people that didn't read the rules and don't realize this is very much a pro-wildlife subreddit. (Not you OP, you're fine).