Recent content by FatherofChickens

Hopefully this is the last post on this thread - I was getting frustrated, have been keeping the birds in their outdoor coop during the day, penned up, today was the fifth or sixth day. I figured the predator would get bold and have to come closer - he'd been getting a bird about every 3rd or...

No hot wire - I might have to go this route before too long. I would have already done it - its just the $$$ involved in buying the fencing and T posts.

Found some scat! I'm no tracker but it looks to me like coyote. 2 more birds confirmed gone - RIP Meatball and one of my unnamed roosters. Birds are on lockdown staying in outdoor run - they are not happy about it. Both attacks were downwind from coop, on the fringes of their free-range...

Now there's a chicken missing - that makes two chickens and the turkey in about a week-anda-half span of time. Predator has moved in on me! I'm thinking of putting "Meatball," my basketball-shaped Cornish Cross, in a dog cage on the property flank and laying an ambush. Meatball will be safe...

Did not see scat - Me and the pups did some scouting - only found another pile of feathers. Will keep an eye out and see if I can find anything. Game camera is out at the kill site - will keep ya'll updated. I did sit downwind from the kill site yesterday evening and a single racoon appeared...

We do have those around - I've seen them. You think he coulda eaten the whole bird?

Found Big turkey boy Boopie's remains this morning. Bout 120 yards from coop, down in creek bottom - first little spot of feathers was 70+ yards from coop, then I could see the gruesome scattering of feathers where he was eaten about 40 yards further on. DANGER- GRUESOME CORPSE DESCRIPTION...

Bird mayhem! These birds are running amuck! Some of these are third generation hatched-on-the-farm. Some were even born in the woods. True wild birds. Hen running in grass is "Biscuit," the original matriarch hen that started it all. Peep is the big rooster boy, father. He jumps for corn...

I had a poop board in my portable coop that's now abandoned. It was at a 45 degree angle and had a little slot for the poop to roll out the side. My main coop I tried poop boards but the birds roost all up in the rafters and just poop everywhere. The poop is out of control. The poop in the...

Pssshhhh. C'mon bro. You're scolding me for allowing a roving pitbull to come onto my property and possibly poke his paw one time when he tries to dig into my coop and kill my chickens?

Coyote will be back until you answer with lead. I had one coyote take three chickens in a week last summer. No sign of feathers or even a struggle, just missing birds. They grab them and go. I look out kitchen window one evening, see him eyeballing the chickens, just standing in my lawn about...

Spiked garden hose bro. I had a pit bull attack and almost dig under my coop fence. I found a couple old sections of half-rotted garden hose and drove a bazillion nails through it. Halfway buried it at base of fencing, further reinforced with some wire to hold it in place. Took a while to make...

Hawk wind! Wow! Never happened to me, but that's really cool! Had my oldest, most rugged hen pinned by gigantic King Hawk about a year ago. I heard her screaming and came running with my dogs and a broom. She was fine with just a scratch. He ended up coming back but I scared him off with loud...

Make sure there's no food anywhere outside the coop the coons would be attracted to. Most of my racoon deaths came from coons that were already attracted to food/water where they could get to it at night. The killing of the chickens was secondary. I removed the outdoor food pellet dispenser...

After three years of chickens, I've learned it's rough out there for a chicken. Mine are free range on a little hill top, deep in the woods and fields of rural MS. Coyotes bobcats hawks racoons possums skunks snakes rats cats wild dogs owls fox windegos you name it. Here's my two cents on...