Should I give up

[Flawedatdesign]

Okay have had chickens for 4 months now here where I live. No pred problems till the past 3 weeks. I cannot afford to go by stronger fence. Coons are tearing my flock apart no pun intended and the runs/coops too. Should I just sell out cheap so I know they might survive?

 

[CMTSMWC]

I would find them a home where they were safe if they were mine. I know I wouldn't want to get rid of them but if it meant a safer life then there would be no question in my mind. I hope you can figure things out, I have lost some to coons so I know how you feel

.

 

[Nicole01]

I'm so very sorry.

I do know chicken wire is worthless. Maybe you can fully secure the coop and keep them fully locked up at night. Wire is very expensive. Hardware cloth is the best, but we use welded wire in the run, which we found out it's not predator safe. Our coop is inside our garage built by particle board and 2x4's for the frame. It's a concrete floor with a steel door. I have no wire inside the coop. Our ventilation is up high(8 or 9 ft) and nothing can climb the wall inside the garage to get inside.

I hope you can find a way to keep your flock and avoid predators. Maybe using a live trap to catch the raccoons. You can rent or buy live traps. I wish you the best of luck with your decision.

 

[southerndesert]

Yes you should re-home them if you can not afford to build a safe home or the coons will continue to kill until they are all gone....

 

[wood&feathers]

Do any of your dogs guard the coop at night? If you cannot protect, rehome. Maybe if you have a friend with a secure coop they can keep your birds for a while, until you can afford better fence. Definitely keep an eye on CraigsList.

 

[Flawedatdesign]

Well going to try and trap the coons. going to move the coops closer to the house and closer to the dog. Plan is to string another round of wire around the coops. Going to be a busy day

 

[JoshRonin]

I've been looking into building a fence out of old pallet boards. You can probably find these for free from local businesses. I've seen where people build all kinds of things out of these, from fences to sheds.

 

[christineavatar]

I also had raccoon problems. I found a devise called 'Nite Guard'
http://www.niteguard.com/pages/Order/
It helped to stop the raccoons from coming around. I also reinforced my coop.

 

[7L Farm]

Hot wire !!

 

[Flawedatdesign]

Well I'm going to put 1 inch wire over the 2 inch wire once it cools down. I tried doing in just a bit ago but it's just to hot out.