Anyone who has lost a chicken to a Coon or Possum

[silkiechick05]

How big was the wire they grabbed your chicken through?

 

[silkiechick05]

Anyone??

 

[SallyF]

I lost three chickens to (probably) a coon. It grabbed them through chain link fencing and took the heads off. After that I wrapped the chain link run with chicken wire and the combination seems to have worked; haven't lost anything since, knock on wood.

 

[silkiechick05]

Okay thank you very much.

I am trying to decide whether to use 1/2" by 1/2" or 1/2" by 1"

 

[cornpone]

the smaller "hole" in the wire is better..also the bigger the gauge of wire the better...i use tin around most of my pens..used roofing tin...if a coon etc. can see the chickens he will work all night trying to tear the wire or dig under the coop....i keep box traps set at night.. my free range hens roost in trees ..year 'round. i keep my bantams in fly pens 5' x 10' x 8' high. i've caught 28 possums . 2 coons, 1 ground hog... all since june...they in turn killed 2 roosters. 1 pullet...3--4 young chicks...all were in pens...all that was left was a puff of feathers.....course there's hawks . foxes & coyotes to deal with...

 

[elmo]

Many people on the dove board advised me that racoons can grab birds through the 1 by 1/2 inch wire. I decided to use 1/2 by 1/2 inch.

 

[silkiechick05]

Quote:
all we can find is galvanized 19 gauge 1/2" by 1/2"

Is that strong enough to protect against cyotes, raccoons, possums, and dogs?

 

[wombat]

Look for 1/2" x 1/2" hardware cloth. Some Home Depot and Lowes carry it, some don't. Most will order it. I believe that any True Value can order it as well.

I staple it up for easy of handling (it likes to roll back on itself) ... then secure it with screws and washers.

 

[citrusdreams]

Quote:
yep, anything larger than 1/2" x 1/2" will allow a raccoon or possum to stick their furry little arms though and grab a chicken that is roosting too close to the edge where it can be grabbed. That usually results in a headless chicken because the raccoon or possum can pull them through until the head detaches.

As for the stuff with the bigger holes, your coyotes and dogs can't get to the chickens though that. But beware, if a dog or other large predator harasses your chickens from outside their pen, the chickens will fly around in a frenzy and can break their necks in doing so. So to count on keeping predators out of the pen to keep your chickens safe is a bit simplistic. Depending on your predator load, there's more to it than that. They can still cause the chickens to injure or kill themselves. Also be aware that your netting or whatever you have across the top of your pen, can be pulled up by the smarter predators. So make sure it's strong and make sure it's held down strong.

If you have a lot of predators, you might need to confine the chickens to the henhouse at night and let them out in the morning. I don't have a problem with natural predators because I have so many loud obnoxious dogs, so my chickens have access to the henhouse and the pen from dusk till dawn. Then they free range from dawn till dusk. You'll have to figure out your predator load to decide what works best for you.

 

[silkiechick05]

citrusdreams

we are planning on having a plywood roof, so i think it would be hard for something to get in from there.

i am just worried a dog will be able to bite/claw/push through a 19 gauge wire