Lost my first chicken(s) to predator.

[darin367]

hatched out some baby chicks in feb. .. put them out in my coop/run last week... my run is surround by 2x4 wire. the chicks were just big enough they wouldnt squeez thru.. come home today and rudy, the rooster is making a ruckus.... as i'm walking down to the coop a hawk takes off about 40 ft. from the coop.. i can't find any of the pullets, they were hiding in the back of the coop, 2 are missing... i find 1 of them on the outside of the pen hiding.... find a dead 1 half eaten down where the hawk took off..... and 1 missing.... from what i can tell the hawk reached into the pen and grabbed 1 and pulled it thru the fence.... i guess i'm going to go around the bottom of my run with some chicken wire...... hopefully that will do the trick.... any ideas for detering hawks.....

 

[terry's chicks]

What kind of top did you have on the run? I seems to me a hawk wouldn't reach in from the side, maybe this one that was partially eatten also got through the fence?

 

[Smittenroade]

Throw up some picts of your coop/run and we can give you all the info you need. It does take quite a bit of work to fully predator-proof your coop/run, mine looks like a freggin fortress. Also, do you know all the predators from your area? It's best to design for what is most likely to be around.

 

[YYZ]

Could have been a cat !

I had a couple raccoons around the other night....not sure how but a hen got hurt and ended up dying. I think coons mostly look for eggs tho. I gotta get a gun !

 

[snugglebird]

We lost our 2 roosters during the winter to raccoons. We set traps to catch the culprit. The raccoons were very tricky and would throw the traps without getting caught. We finally were able to catch the 2 raccoons that were responsible. Needless to say we destroyed them. Our roos were big babies so the loss was very sad for our family. When you have chickens it's likely you'll lose one occasionally. We've been fairly lucky with our chickens though. We had not had a loss in over 3 years.

 

[YYZ]

What kind of traps did you use For the raccoons Snugglebird?
You are right , we do loose a few but you have outsmarted them!

 

[pasunset]

AAuuuggghhh

 

[darin367]

it was a hawk, and yes he came back and tries grabbing them thru the 2 inch by 4 inch fencing..... this time my rooster had wised up and herded all the girls into the coop and was standing guard at the door to the coop... kinda funny to watch... my coop/run is covered with chicken wire over the top and 2x4 fencing on the sides, dug into the ground about 6-9 inches.... my biggest concern was coons because i loose a cat every 3 or 4 years to coons.... anyway i went out and wrapped the bottom 2 ft. with chicken wire, i know he ain't pulling nothing thru there...that and my roosters new awareness hopefully will do the trick...

 

[Emmalion]

I would go with adding some hard wire cloth to the bottom part of the run to keep out the critters paws. This way your babies will be safe for a certain height . Ill see if I can find a pic of what I am talking about.

 

[Emmalion]

Ok I found one

Credit: http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/4826/raising-animals-as-gardening-allies

So you see how the bottom of the run has a layer of chicken wire on top of the other wire. That is where you should put some hard wire cloth to keep out the evil paws.