Tell How Predators Got Your Chickens. Save Somebody Else From The Bad Experience

[Roxannemc]

I have 2 extra large dogs on my side porch at night looking into the front yard.and one who goes in the front yard, off and on day and night until bed. The chicken coop is in the front yard about 20 ft from my dogs on the porch .So far i keep dropping the locks in the dark so have stopped used a lock.they seem safe.. with the 175 lb dogs so close
Reading all these posts about coons and weasels....think i will go out string some wire thru the latch and twist it well!!!

 

[LaynaDon95]

I lost quite a few of my chickens to a pack of neighborhood dogs recently. My mistakes were not locking the coop the night before, and not shooting them sooner. 1 of the dogs had come sniffing around before and I knew she was up to no good. We chased her away and talked to her owners. They said they would keep her locked up, but they didn't. She grabbed some friends and came over for a killing spree. So many of my favorites died. I now keep the front gate shut and the coop gets locked every night! And we keep a 22 next to the back door, just in case.

 

[LightningTFarm]

If you live where there are close neighbors, a 410 shotgun would be safer than a 22. It would put a hole in any pest, but not be able to go through the wall of a neighboring house and hurt anybody like a 22 bullet could.

 

[okallthis4eggs]

Dogs are a tough one to deal with. Often they are "Man's best friend" and predators at the same time. A good friendly conversation with any neighbor who lets their dog roam would be good before anything happens if it is possible. Let them know your intent to shoot the dog if they attack. A clear understanding is best but not always possible. Thats being a good neighbor. However you have to do whats necessary to protect your livestock and property. I would try a light load of birdshot from a distance if possible that would not be fatal to the dog when I caught him on my property IF the chickens were not being attacked. But thats just me. Every situation is different. Do your best in every situation. Hopefully the neighbors will care enough about their dogs to contain them so everybody is happy and safe after they are informed

 

[abChicken]

Morn-I havent had dog problems in good many years-Two years ago lost half my birds to coons-We rebuilt all of our pens--So now couple weeks ago lost almost grown silkie to a six foot snake-How do you protect from a dang snake?????????????????????AB

 

[Missa Chickabee]

These are just some *Notes to Self*

• Never Never Never forget to lock up your coop door at dusk.

• Never assume that the enclosed run is good enough to protect them at night.

• Make your coop Fort Knox (with good ventilation..1/2 inch mesh is best to cover holes)

• Never Never Never forget to lock up your coop door at dusk.

• Do not have even a one inch hole in your coop for a nasty blood-sucking weasel to get in their and leave bloodless carcasses behind.

• Keep a well-covered run....against hawks. Net works for hawks but I don't know about foxes. Hard wire is best against everything.

• Buried chicken wire running at the base of the run out about a foot. ( But the run made out of something more substantial than chicken wire)

• NEVER NEVER NEVER forget to lock your flock in the coop at dusk.

Self...pay attention! Lives are depending on you!

(PS.....I don't know about snakes, though. We have a concrete floor for our coop.)

 

[LaynaDon95]

These are just some *Notes to Self*

• Never Never Never forget to lock up your coop door at dusk.

• Never assume that the enclosed run is good enough to protect them at night.

• Make your coop Fort Knox (with good ventilation..1/2 inch mesh is best to cover holes)

• Never Never Never forget to lock up your coop door at dusk.

• Do not have even a one inch hole in your coop for a nasty blood-sucking weasel to get in their and leave bloodless carcasses behind.

• Keep a well-covered run....against hawks. Net works for hawks but I don't know about foxes. Hard wire is best against everything.

• Buried chicken wire running at the base of the run out about a foot. ( But the run made out of something more substantial than chicken wire)

• NEVER NEVER NEVER forget to lock your flock in the coop at dusk.

Self...pay attention! Lives are depending on you!

(PS.....I don't know about snakes, though. We have a concrete floor for our coop.)

And also, NEVER NEVER NEVER forget to lock your flock in the coop at dusk. You forgot that one. =P
I'm especially fond of that rule, seeing as I would have a lot more laying hens if I hadn't forgotten a few weeks ago!!

 

[LaynaDon95]

Morn-I havent had dog problems in good many years-Two years ago lost half my birds to coons-We rebuilt all of our pens--So now couple weeks ago lost almost grown silkie to a six foot snake-How do you protect from a dang snake?????????????????????AB

Make sure there are no holes, and use very tiny hardware cloth instead of chicken wire. Snakes can't fit through it, and the ones that can aren't big enough to swallow one of your girls!

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Hardware cloth will keep snakes out..if one got into your pen, maybe something else could too. I keep the grass outside the pen short, this way I hope the chickens can see what's coming and sound the alarm, and maybe the brave ones will attack it. Snakes don't like to go outside cover but they will if hunting becomes poor where they live. Some people use moth balls, I haven't yet. Dogs...if you have neighbors so close that is a tough one...out here we usually shoot first and ask later...if your neighbor doesn't shoot your dog you owe a great big favor believe me. A pack of dogs can run farm animals to death in a few hours, destroy all your chickens in a few minutes, not to mention out hunting all the wild game instead of me...dogs loose are up to no good. IMO. If your not a very good shot the 410 is okay, just consider what is behind and to the side of your line of fire...if you are that close to other houses I would consider other options...a 22 bullet can travel a mile. It gets tricky doesn't it.

 

[LaynaDon95]

Hardware cloth will keep snakes out..if one got into your pen, maybe something else could too. I keep the grass outside the pen short, this way I hope the chickens can see what's coming and sound the alarm, and maybe the brave ones will attack it. Snakes don't like to go outside cover but they will if hunting becomes poor where they live. Some people use moth balls, I haven't yet. Dogs...if you have neighbors so close that is a tough one...out here we usually shoot first and ask later...if your neighbor doesn't shoot your dog you owe a great big favor believe me. A pack of dogs can run farm animals to death in a few hours, destroy all your chickens in a few minutes, not to mention out hunting all the wild game instead of me...dogs loose are up to no good. IMO. If your not a very good shot the 410 is okay, just consider what is behind and to the side of your line of fire...if you are that close to other houses I would consider other options...a 22 bullet can travel a mile. It gets tricky doesn't it.

heh, yeah. We were more than patient with the neighbors with the first dog. She's an alaskan husky, a beautiful, white, fluffy, friendly dog. She is the sweetest dog ever, I swear. I love her. Lady (the dog) had come sniffing around the chickens several months ago. I sent her home. A few months later I woke up to one of my tractors with a couple small holes ripped in the chicken wire, the roost pulled out of it, the plastic around it torn to bits, but the chickens inside were okay. I didn't know what had done it, because Lady hadn't been to our house in months. Well, a few weeks before school started one of the boys in the neighborhood started walking his dogs in the morning (not on leash. We don't have leash laws here, so as long as they don't damage anything, fine. Whatever. I don't care.) Well the boy's house is in the middle of 2 other neighbors' houses who let their dogs roam. Their dogs started following his dogs when he would walk them. Around that time some neighbors who lived behind them had cock fighting roosters. (I knew nothing of it. It's been handled.) The roosters started escaping out of their pens (or being let out, nobody really knows.) and getting into the yards with all the roaming dogs. The dogs decided that "chick toys" were so fun to play with and chase and chew on. While walking with the boy one morning, they discovered we had yummy chicken toys as well. Lady came into the yard one morning and right in front of me started harassing some of the chickens in the tractor in the front yard. My little sister chased her away (I was behind a fence, so I couldn't get to her.) We went that day and talked to the owners. They were all apologetic and promised to keep her put away. At this point we had no idea about the cock fighting rooster eating going on, or that the other dogs had any interest in our chickens. I knew they wouldn't keep her penned up, so I set a couple bb guns around various places so I would have something to shoot her with. (I'm a very bad shot, and at this point I really didn't want to shoot such a friendly dog if I didn't have to.) Well, a week later I had forgotten to lock up the coop. I woke up that morning in a panic because I had just had a dream that my own dog, Maggie had killed my entire flock. She has been trained to leave them alone, though, and I trust her completely with them, so this was odd. Anyways, I flew outside, terrified something horrible and happened, and, to my complete dread, something horrible had happened. Fortunately, not near as many were dead as I had first thought. Quite a few were hiding, but some had sustained such bad injuries that we had to kill them. Some of the others we had to doctor and nurse back to health. One of my wards (my very favorite Amauracana hen) died a few days later because her injuries were too bad.
you get the point. We billed the neighbors, told them that if there dogs ever put a toe on out property that we would be killing them. We had Lady's owners come down to the house to see what their dog had done. They promised over and over again to rehome her. They said they would keep her in the house until they had found her another home. 4 of the next 6 days! she was out in front of our house! grr! One morning she was in my next door neighbors yard, pawing at the fence, trying to get into my yard, and I collared and leashed her and took her back to her house! Now, if that is not patient, I have no idea what on God's green earth is. Then they told us, "uh, nevermind. We aren't rehoming her."

ARG! "Okay, fine, but if she ever, EVER, comes back, I'm shooting her. With a 22. Not a bb gun. And she will die." So be it. She hasn't been back in about a week and a half, maybe 2 weeks.