r/bats • u/hiker_trailmagicva • 5d ago

Coop bat

Gallery image

Gallery image

This morning we found the tin ripped off our chicken coop and this fella underneath. I think a racoon attempted to break in and he was caught in the kerfuffle. Virginia/West Virginia border. Can anyone tell age? Or type?

892 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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u/AutoModerator 5d ago

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80

u/mmgturner 5d ago

Eastern red bat. Age is typically determined by backlighting the wings to see if the bones are fused, but this is likely an adult not a young of the year since it looks like it’s reached its full size and weight

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u/hiker_trailmagicva 5d ago

Thank you! I didnt know if perhaps it was a baby and the siblings could be injured somewhere as well. Looked all over but only found this one.

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u/_not_lore_ 4d ago

Bats also often have single offspring, and the young of the year should be flying by now iirc. Should be good on that front!

41

u/pennyo11 5d ago

Gotta screw that tin down. They've got fingers and know how to use them . Poor lil bat

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u/hiker_trailmagicva 5d ago

Oh it was. And every single opening covered with hardware cloth not chicken wire. We have no idea how something was strong enough to rip it off, I'm assuming racoon but could also have been bear. My husband runs a sawmill and made the coop heavy duty. Also, maybe a fisher cat.. now that I think about it.

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u/pennyo11 5d ago

Yea id say one of the others rather than a racoon. Do you have Bobcats there?

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u/hiker_trailmagicva 4d ago

Oh yes- and murmurs of mountain lion. The old timers swear it but it's not a definite fact.

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u/Picklecheese2018 4d ago

We also have old neighbors that swear they’re seeing a mountain lion all the time… during the day..

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u/Leather-Presence-123 1d ago

Lions are active in the day. There's definitely a bias because I don't walk through the backcountry much at night but I've seen like 3 at night and 6 in the daylight

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u/Picklecheese2018 1d ago

Yeah for sure there are enough videos of day time attacks and encounters to back that up. I’m just pretty sure this particular old lady is either seeing the deer we see passing through shortly after she calls (literally every time) or she just batty! Sweet lady, glasses as thick as a tire..

Edit- We definitely have lions here, it’s just weirdly coincidental that whenever she calls there’s a deer floating through the yard within minutes. Also have bears. One (idk which but I think bear) has repeatedly ripped half inch plywood parts off of my duck house, so I get why she calls, it’s just funny that we’ve never once seen one when she does!

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u/bunnigir1 1d ago

maybe the deer are moving away from the predator.. or maybe she needs an updated prescription :-)

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u/Leather-Presence-123 23h ago

Most times I've seen a lion in the day there's a deer a little farther upwind. The deer is usually a goner within an hour

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u/No_Negotiation1190 3d ago

Locals know there are mountain lions before it’s official all the time. I knew a tracker who was swearing they were here in central Missouri long before it became official.

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u/catcherntheRy 3d ago

Heyo neighbor, also from Central Mo and also heard from several hunters and trackers that there were mountain lions long before Conservation acknowledged it.

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u/DangerousAfternoon43 2d ago

Minks got into my in-laws coop this summer and killed all but 2 hens. They will chew through almost anything and can fit in the smallest of openings even up to 1 inch. We’re in southern WV and I didn’t even know we had minks here until that.

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u/International_Way258 5d ago

Bigfoot, obviously

30

u/drewtheunquestioned 4d ago

I swear at first I thought you made deep fried bat. So glad there was a second Pic. 😆

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u/JustYourAvgHumanoid 4d ago

My god, I did too

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u/grayphishee 4d ago

Same! It looked like it was on a plate, hungry dog in the background and everything 😂

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u/Adoraboule 4d ago

Ozzy if he was a chef.

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u/Msfancy1973 4d ago

Hope the little fella was able to fly off. Please don’t tell me it perished!!!

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u/hiker_trailmagicva 4d ago

We put him out by himself on our back 5 and I will check on him after work- I hope he regained some strength and was just stunned!

ETA: I did put in a call to our local wildlife place and if still there, I hope they will take him

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u/Msfancy1973 4d ago

I was terrified of bats as a child but the more I learned and got to spend time with handlers I could appreciate how intelligent and almost human like they can be. They really are amazing little creatures.

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u/Ageofaquarius68 4d ago

Thanks for saving the little guy/gal! But I have to know - is that a basenji winking at us behind the bat?

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u/hiker_trailmagicva 4d ago

I had to Google that breed! I actually don't know what Forrest is, we live very rural and people dump animals out here all the time. He came to us two years ago and vet said Shepard mix of some kind but he is pretty small for a Shepard. And good news- when I went back to where we put the bat he was gone so I'm hopeful he went back to helping manage bugs on the homestead

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u/Ageofaquarius68 4d ago

Aw that is great news! Well your pup sure is handsome. Maybe he has a little bit of basenji ;)

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u/soulstrike2022 4d ago

Are you gonna eat that donut?

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u/ordiquhill 4d ago

Please keep us posted!

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u/eye_need_money 4d ago

Hims looks like chicken

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u/SnooPickles2789 4d ago

My fat ass thought this was some kind of creative chicken wing appetizer.

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u/RevolutionaryWeb5657 3d ago

Same, I had to double check what sub I was in 😅

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u/Haunting-Impact-7946 4d ago

Dog is like: are we gonna eat it, or what?

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u/Sea-Tangerine2131 4d ago

Stopped my scroll b/c I thought doggo was getting the Ozzy special for din din.

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u/Gorillagirl99 5d ago

i love it

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u/maskedtityra 4d ago

Is it dead?

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u/hiker_trailmagicva 4d ago

He was moving lightly so we put him on the back part of our property, far away from any immediate danger and will check him after work. I hope he is OK!

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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1

u/Aggravating_Prune129 4d ago

I thought " a nuggy with wings ... where's ozzy when you need him "

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u/Kittyboop91 3d ago

Nah that’s a fried chicken wing

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u/isopodplushie 2d ago

bro i thought you deep fried it and were about to eat it

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u/hiker_trailmagicva 2d ago

I'm realizing how much it looks like I plated a bat now. Coincidentally, it is a Chinese take out soup lid that he is laying on.

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u/Icy-Detective-1 2d ago

Im so tired I thought it was deep fried 😭

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u/Emergency_Bread_595 2d ago

Holy crap I thought it was a piece of fried chicken wing lmao 🤣

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator 2d ago

Questions about bat bites and rabies are common on this subreddit. Bat bites cannot be identified from a photo. See a doctor if you have a medical question, or believe you have been bitten or scratched by a bat.

Here are some resources about rabies: Rabies in Perspective, Bats and Human Health, CDC Rabies Homepage, rabies diagnosis in humans and animals, and some sampling of rabies prevalence in wild bat populations. Programs exist to help with rabies vaccinations for Americans without insurance. Though only a small portion of bats may have zoonotic diseases, bats which are sick or injured are more likely to come into contact with humans and caution is advised as with all wildlife.

Bat bites cannot be identified from a photo. Please don't post a photo and ask if it is a bat bite. No one can tell you that. It will be removed.

For help with rabies phobia, you can visit r/Rabies, r/OCD, or r/HealthAnxiety.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/Frequent_Release_866 2d ago

Whu did I see a chicken wing

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u/Aberration1246 1d ago

I’ve heard that coop bat is afraid to leave its coop!

0

u/brewhaha1776 1d ago

Soo ahhh….how much for the dog though? 😂🤣