Two legged predator !!! how to stop the person...

[quackcrazy]

Hello fellow chicken lovers !!! I have a two legged predator, the person or persons have been visiting our coops and keep taking the silkie hens and thursday night they took the babies even !! the question if someone accidently put a hot wire on the handle would it just shock them or hurt them ?? I had locks but that started to be pain had to go get key but now it has really got expensive due to the thieves.. I think it is the people living in a barn next door ( I call them squatters ) you know make enough money for their dope how would ya'll handle the thieves ???

 

[dsqard]

The hot wire to the handle would shock them but would not hurt them. It would shock them less than a taser anyway. I have accidentally touched my hot wire before and it will get your attention but it won't knock you out. Do you think that this will actually deter them? It would be easy to do. You could also hook up a game camera to catch them in the act and contact the police. Course a bear trap in front of the coop might work too (just kidding but stealing pets is just so totally wrong!)

 

[herfrds]

Start by locking your lock again. It can be a pain, but to have a small pain then a bigger one of lost birds.

Also get a game camera and set it where they cannot see it or get to it and set it up.

 

[Break an Egg]

I would call the police, and if I caught them on my property I would shoot them.

 

[herfrds]

Also depends upon what the hot wire charge is set at.
Some of those fence chargers can be down right nasty.

 

[onthespot]

File a police report and buy or borrow a game camera. Get proof, file charges. Squatters will be gone.

 

[oldchickenlady]

I would call the police and check craigslist or other places to see if someone is selling silkie chickens. Perhaps if you called some of the folks selling silkies it might be your squatters! Wouldn't it be funny if you could set them up, say you wanted x number or color of silkies (that you already have of course) then catch them in the act of stealing your birds!

That would be so funny! Actually, I am sorry about the loss of your birds, it would totally p*** me off! I hope you catch them!

 

[duck walk]

I would be sitting very quietly inside the coop with my double barreled .12 gauge and when he/she opened the door to steal from me, they would be eyeball to eyeball with it...I would tell them, "not this time, but next time, if there is a next time, but there better not be and next time, I will shoot you." That is just me...my husband's best friend who was often a little inappropriate with me showed up two evenings after my husband left for Korea...I saw him coming...the bathroom was right across from the back door which opened up to a deck...when his foot hit the deck, I tripped the door handle and the door swung open very slowly...I stepped back into the bathroom and when his face appeared in the doorway he was looking down the barrel of my side by side double barreld .12 gauge and that is what I told him...I never saw him again...sometimes you just have to stand up for yourself and make your point most emphatically...

 

[JustOneMore]

Indeed you should file a report with the police and also get your property "posted" if it isn't already. Check with your state/local requirements to ensure that it's legally posted ... just a sign on the coop won't do.

Also, I would lock the coop again despite any inconvenience. There are locks out there that require just one multiple digit number to open. We use them on our shed and on any locks that we can ... then you don't have to keep track of keys. Most allow you to program the number AND allow you to reset the number if you wish. Then if you had a house sitter they could access your coops and you could change the code if you deemed necessary afterward.

 

[Wifezilla]

I would call the police, and if I caught them on my property I would shoot them.

One of the benefits of living out west

You are expected to shoot varmints...2 or 4 legged!​