3 out of 4 chickens are gone.. how to protect them better

[zatsdeb]

you should get a live trap and see if you have a racoon, they are pretty easy to catch, put the trap in the coop with a can of cat food. We have left our coop open before, noone is perfect! sounds like you need a secure chicken run with small chicken wire fence around it, we use welded wire fence, 2 X 4 and then chicken wire around that cause a coon can pull a chickens head through the fence.
get yourself some more chickens and try again, its a good experience to have responsibility, we all learn from our mistakes, good luck!!!
check out some coop designs on the BYC site, there are some real good ones that might be good for you! not all coops are expensive! we built ours from scrap wood and tin!!!

 

[christa7032]

Mistari, just try to learn from your mistakes and like others have said, set an alarm to remind you to lock them up or build an enclosed run for days you think you will be too busy to remember. I have locked mine up too late before and they were luckily fine. However, something killed 4 of my chickens just by reaching through the wire from the outside (it took us a while to figure out what was going on). Sometimes no matter how safe you think they are, predators will find a way in anyway. I just hope my girls are safe now that I have made some changes, but I could be back on here at any time complaining about something figuring out a way into my coop again. If I were you, I would just figure out a way to fix the problems and try again. Good luck.

 

[LovinMyHensInNC!]

I am so sorry for your run with bad luck!

But don't let that discourage you. Figure out a way to out wit those predators. I have had problems with hawks and coyotes and I try to view it as a learning experience on what I can do to fix that. I use to let my birds free range and would, too, lock them up every night and let them out every morning. Frankly, with having small children and enough to do around the house, I couldn't keep up with doing that every day. I ended up erecting a fence around their house and it works for us. When I am home, I can go out on my time and open up the gate to let them wander yonder. Good luck to you!

 

[Atlchick]

I'm so sorry about your chickens! ANYBODY who has had chickens for ANY length of time can loose one to predators. Sometimes we forget, but sometimes you think have done everything possible to protect your chickens . . . in a pen with two layers of wire, netting across the top, electric fence wiring around the bottom . . . AND STILL some type of critter will figure a way to get in. We lost one of our favorite Easter Eggers last week, after 6 months of no trouble at all. It is heart-breaking, but it does happen sometimes.

Sometimes you lose chickens to sickness, you just have to learn some of the basics and keep illnesses and injuries to a minimum. You'll find lots of help on this Forum - check out the info on the index. I learn something new every time I log on!I have found it is well worth the effort - these chicks will bring a lot of joy into your life!

Sorry about the rude dudes who posted first. Honestly in the year or so I've been following this Forum, I have rarely seen anybody post in such a hateful tone. Usually folks try to be more helpful and less condemning. Sure must be tough on them to be perfect all the time!

 

[chickensioux]

Quote:
That was not nice to say I agree we all forget things...........mistari maybe this time you will remember sometimes it takes something like that and YOU wont forget to shut there door Good luck sorry those people were so mean in the posts

That's what I was going to say. Nothing like a tragedy to help you remember. I'm sure you have learned from this just like we all have learned from the mistakes we've made with our birds. We all started out the same....learning. Good luck in the future.

 

[chooniecat]

learning from your mistakes is how most of us learn ANYTHING(I do not hesitate to call it stubborness in myself tho) and I have not had a loss of chickens from predators in the 7 yrs I have had chickens. I knew from the git-go that there were lots of coons,skunks,opposum,fox,etc and set a hav-a-hart trap 24/7/365 and whenever something was trapped I scared the b-geebers out of them(except for cats-they get neutered if needed) and spray painted their back to see if there were any repeat offenders(have never had one!) Currently house my 11 yr old dog in chicken shed at dark cause there are young meaties there and the dog loves sleeping in shed so she has probably helped any roug predators stay away. I also use my phone alarm to set time to remember to shut off horse water,duck pool because have flooded the back yard before. good luck.

 

[mygirls55]

Hi Mistari...sorry about your chickens being supper for a preditor.

I purchased an 8x10 chain link dog kennel for my hens. Covered it with canvas on the outside, to keep the wind and rain off them, have the top covered with tin. I made them a 16x16 chicken yard, out of hog panels, and covered all that with chicken wire. I put bricks on the inside and outside of the chicken yard and around the coop. If a preditor tries to dig under, the brick will fall down in the hole, and make it difficult to dig in....if it does make it through the first brick....there is always the second brick to fall in the hole. So far, I havent had anything to get in my chicken pens or yards, and I've had chickens for 3 years now. I have seen where something has tried to dig under, but apparently gave up?
I used to be able to let my chickens free range, but have had to keep them put up, as there are too many preditors around, and everytime I let them out, I lost a hen. There are coyote, fox, racoons, hawks...owls....just waiting to prey on my flock.
I take very good care of my girls. I just love chickens.
Hopefully when and if you decide to get more chickens....you can have a good sized yard for them to roam around in....and wont have to let them out, and wont run the risk of forgetting to shut the coop up.
I really do hate that I cant let my girls free range....but I just cant take the risk of them getting ate by something. I know they miss free ranging also. But...I pull grass for them and throw in their yard, and when I took our garden out, I basically pulled tomato plants one at a time, and threw in their chicken yard and they totally cleaned the leaves off. I have a large chest freezer full of garden vegetable, and scraps from cleaning the veggies for cooking, or canning. I save those, until winter comes on good....then I take stuff out of the freezer, let thaw, and throw it out to the girls....they really love it. I also cook them cornbread every other day, and I add lots of good stuff to it...like goats milk, and a little ground up egg shell....put in fresh eggs, and some corn chops. They love it.
I've also purchased live traps.....all I've caught so far are stray cats.
Hope something I have said will help you, when you decide to get a flock going again.