Chicken tractor - fewer predator attacks?

[lingon]

I'm wondering if having a coop that moves every day is a slight deterrent to predators like mink and raccoon?

We have a chicken tractor (elevated plywood coop with run in front and below, on wheels, moved almost daily) for our 2-4 chickens. We live in a suburban area with raccoons, coyotes, foxes, skunks, and mink. The pop door to the coop closes and opens automatically but the run is open at the bottom, so anything into digging could easily access chickens during the day. The coop itself is plywood but I'm sure there are enough cracks, etc, for mink to open an access hole if they worked at it. No reinforced hardware cloth covering it, etc.

So far, for 6 years, we have had no chickens attacked while in the run/coop. (We did let them free range for a bit and now only do free range with direct supervision, due to hawk attacks.) Other chicken owners in the area have had mink attacks, and mink have been seen by our neighbors.

Are we just lucky? Or are our mink really lazy? Or could it be that moving the coop every day doesn't give them time to scope out the situation and plan their attack?

 

[flyin-lowe]

Chicken tractors are typically harder to predator proof then a permanent structure. Some times it is just dumb luck. My neighbor has had chickens for year, usually 60 plus. He has the back of his pole barn made into a coop and just had a hole in the wall, no fence, no protection, nothing. We live in the country near a state nature preserve so there are predators everywhere. He went several years and the only losses he had were from his neighbors dog, despite zero protection. I built my coop and completely wrapped in in hardware cloth. That first spring I had a fox grab one while they were out free ranging. A week later I talked to him and he had lost 30 plus birds. He now has about an acre of his yard fenced in for them but it is just farm fence 6 foot tall that a fox or coyote could get in if they wanted to.

 

[cmom]

We have more predation at night. We are rural on a dead end road. I have have several game cameras on our property. Most nights I see a predator, usually coyote and fox and once in awhile coons, possums, dogs, cats, skunks and owls. Once in awhile I see a hawk or eagle during the day but we feed the crows so usually the crows will chase them off. A coyote in the yard.

 

[aart]

Are we just lucky?

OhMan, you shouldn't have said anything....quick, knock on some wood!!
Would love to see pics of your tractor.