Recent content by scooter147

I can't help although black bears are starting to show in Missouri again. Are these black bears? If a black bear and I know attacks on humans are rare but do you pack a gun when you go out? I wouldn't want to chance it. How about a good dog?

I got a duck that was approx. 6 months old that was in 2003! (it was sort of a rescue) I am simply amazed, it dawned on my yesterday just how old Quackers was. Any one have a duck live that long? I will say this, he is blind in one eye and don't see well out of the other but it doesn't...

There is always a pecking order. My experience over 40 plus years is there is less squabbling at roosting time with one roost. Most chickens want to get as high as they can so the lower birds in the pecking order try to get to the higher roost, the top birds don't want that to happen, they...

Here is my two cents worth. I learned a long time ago not to even bother with the neighbors. When dogs show up chasing, harassing, killing my livestock I simple shoot, shovel and SHUT UP. It's a waste my time and breath to have this discussion with 90% of neighbors so I stopped. When the...

I use to have a flock of approx. 75 hens, a dozen ducks, a few geese, 2 peacocks. I had a huge field behind the house and coops. I use to let the birds roam when I was home. Well a pair of coyotes set up shop in the woods beyond the field. They came a calling one Saturday afternoon and...

Nice coop

If raccoons are in that of Washington then they are lurking in your neighborhood, you just don't see them. The only thing you didn't mention was a skirt around the run to prevent digging under. I would bury the HC about 6 inches down and 18 inches or so from the base of the run.

Like my dad use to say to me. "if you are going to do it do it right". I would go with the 2x4 welded wire. chicken wire is very flimsy, hard to work with and will not last as long.

The fake owl is likely to scare your chickens more than it will the hawks, at least it did mine.

:-)

In these types of situations there is only one thing to do..............

Yep, I've seen that on my place as well. They spook the birds into taking cover, land on the ground then hop into the cover and usually when a chicken freaks and bolts from the cover they then latch onto that bird and the wrestle royal is on. I do spend a lot of time outside with the...

I have not had any luck using this method with Coopers Hawks. They fly down, sit on a fence post or the coop and simply dive down through and opening and basically chase a chicken like a ground predator. I've seen it probably a half dozen times over the years. I had to go with full netting...

Yep, like clockwork.