Black Snakes in my chicken coop!!!!!

[SemperChicken]

Noooo no no! You didn't thread hijack! Lol love the terminology.

That's why I started it. I appreciate your posts. That's great! Please keep us updated. I need to do some re figuring as well. Losing my babies is so hard. Awwwww twins!

Oh yall must be pooped.

Ok cool. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't stepping on any toes. Thank you for clearing that up =)

So, from what I was able to do yesterday in securing any more openings and just having a busy day yesterday, I felt pretty comfortable with how the coop was sitting. I wasn't able to get a latch just because of timing and still recovering from our trip, but we lost two more this morning. I've had a hard time telling the difference from the australorp and the marans, but one of them is gone as well as the brahma. So of the 10 chicks we ordered from mpc.com, we have 3 left (buff orpington, one of the black chicks, and a mille fleur). We are going to latch the lid today, set our baby monitor out at the coop, and see about camping out in our gazebo in the backyard with my pellet rifle. And yes, pellet rifle... this isn't a bb-gun you buy at a toy store (I know some people who hunt are very opposed to pellet rifles as it is inhumane, but I have seen people hunt possum, raccoon, and even kill a coyote with the pellet rifle that I have not to mention I've had plenty of clean squirrel kills with it).

We were really looking forward to adding to our original flock of 4, but it's just been a real eye opener for what should be done first; ensuring the security of the coop.

 

[aart]

Quote: Well, it only matters because I was addressing his issue specifically and not your black snake issue.

The multi quote and/or 'nested quotes' functions are handy when a discussion thread emerges (as opposed to a hijacking).
Can make things easier to follow......... and especially to address a specific participants question or issue.

Nested quote setting can be changed in your profile under account settings>forums>'Remove Nested Quotes in Replies'..default is to remove them.
Uncheck to utilize nested quotes, and they can be edited in replies to keep posts shorter and clearer.

 

[Gloryjasmine]

Well, it only matters because I was addressing his issue specifically and not your black snake issue.

The multi quote and/or 'nested quotes' functions are handy when a discussion thread emerges (as opposed to a hijacking).
Can make things easier to follow......... and especially to address a specific participants question or issue.

Nested quote setting can be changed in your profile under account settings>forums>'[COLOR=333333]Remove Nested Quotes in Replies'..default is to remove them.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]Uncheck to utilize nested quotes, and they can be edited in replies to keep posts shorter and clearer.[/COLOR] 

Wow! Ok I'm not arguing with you.

 

[Gloryjasmine]

Ok cool.  Just wanted to make sure I wasn't stepping on any toes.  Thank you for clearing that up =)

So, from what I was able to do yesterday in securing any more openings and just having a busy day yesterday, I felt pretty comfortable with how the coop was sitting.  I wasn't able to get a latch just because of timing and still recovering from our trip, but we lost two more this morning.  I've had a hard time telling the difference from the australorp and the marans, but one of them is gone as well as the brahma.  So of the 10 chicks we ordered from mpc.com, we have 3 left (buff orpington, one of the black chicks, and a mille fleur).  We are going to latch the lid today, set our baby monitor out at the coop, and see about camping out in our gazebo in the backyard with my pellet rifle.  And yes, pellet rifle... this isn't a bb-gun you buy at a toy store (I know some people who hunt are very opposed to pellet rifles as it is inhumane, but I have seen people hunt possum, raccoon, and even kill a coyote with the pellet rifle that I have not to mention I've had plenty of clean squirrel kills with it).

We were really looking forward to adding to our original flock of 4, but it's just been a real eye opener for what should be done first; ensuring the security of the coop.

You're welcome!!!

Ohhhhh my.....

. I'm sorry. Gee something is really after your flock. My heart breaks for you both. Hey whatever works!!! I see in your avatar that your in the service? Marine? I'm sure you can handle it!!! Please please keep me updated.

 

[SemperChicken]

You're welcome!!!

Ohhhhh my.....

. I'm sorry. Gee something is really after your flock. My heart breaks for you both. Hey whatever works!!! I see in your avatar that your in the service? Marine? I'm sure you can handle it!!! Please please keep me updated.

Yea, I was prior active duty (2006-10). Taking care of these chickens has been such a new experience and I absolutely love watching them grow and giving them as best of a life as I can. Which is probably why we, as chicken owners, hurt when something happens to them. It's less about the "money" loss, but more like... "dang, she was only 7 weeks old..." and I feel like I failed them. Three times. The first night we came back, I just thought she happened to get out (the white cochin). She was my favorite. Then the following morning, not even 7 hours after I checked on the chickens from the trip at 1am, the mottled cochin and the favorelles cockerel were taken. I was looking forward to raising the cockerel from day 1 and hoping to have a friendly rooster (our gold laced one is a bit aggressive). And now this morning the brahma and australorp got taken. Just been *bam-bam-bam*. Very depressing. Yes, even for a Marine... it's just something about it, psychologically, having dealt with war & destruction and then being able to watch something grow, mature, and care for it. I apologized to the remaining 3 for not taking better care of their house and having their siblings be taken away.

We're going to place the 3 pullets in the big coop with the big girls and Roo after nightfall, close up the coop door (which we haven't done, ever, since we've lived here in our new home in January), and hope we catch the fox, or whatever animal, dead in its tracks. Was outside earlier this afternoon making sure the scope was on target on my rifle.

I'll let you know how that all goes.

 

[aart]

Quote: Not arguing here either, just sharing info..... am rather pragmatic in my delivery, often mistaken as cold or argumentative...bur certainly not meant to be taken as such.

 

[Gloryjasmine]

Not arguing here either, just sharing info..... am rather pragmatic in my delivery, often mistaken as cold or argumentative...bur certainly not meant to be taken as such.

Dude. First off,I'm not changing anything in my settings. Second,you're complaining about the exact same thing you did. You responded to a post that was a response to my initial thread. Do I care? NO. this is how we learn. This is a forum. Anyone can respond to anybody at anytime! Not just one on one. If you want to not be quoted or responded to,PM the person you're talking to. Other than that,don't get all upset with me because I am involved in the entire thread. Btw,you are ruining this thread with all of the pettiness. Please let's just drop it. Ok? I'm here to discuss the very real predator issues that I'm having with others in the same situation. I will thank you in advance for respecting my request to end this discussion on good terms. God bless.

 

[Gloryjasmine]

Yea, I was prior active duty (2006-10).  Taking care of these chickens has been such a new experience and I absolutely love watching them grow and giving them as best of a life as I can.  Which is probably why we, as chicken owners, hurt when something happens to them.  It's less about the "money" loss, but more like... "dang, she was only 7 weeks old..." and I feel like I failed them.  Three times.  The first night we came back, I just thought she happened to get out (the white cochin).  She was my favorite.  Then the following morning, not even 7 hours after I checked on the chickens from the trip at 1am, the mottled cochin and the favorelles cockerel were taken.  I was looking forward to raising the cockerel from day 1 and hoping to have a friendly rooster (our gold laced one is a bit aggressive).  And now this morning the brahma and australorp got taken.  Just been *bam-bam-bam*.  Very depressing.  Yes, even for a Marine... it's just something about it, psychologically, having dealt with war & destruction and then being able to watch something grow, mature, and care for it.  I apologized to the remaining 3 for not taking better care of their house and having their siblings be taken away.

We're going to place the 3 pullets in the big coop with the big girls and Roo after nightfall, close up the coop door (which we haven't done, ever, since we've lived here in our new home in January), and hope we catch the fox, or whatever animal, dead in its tracks.  Was outside earlier this afternoon making sure the scope was on target on my rifle.

I'll let you know how that all goes.

On behalf of my husband and I,thank you for your service.

Yes. You are right it does hurt. I know this is very discouraging. I wish I had known that you weren't closing the door at dusk. That's the first thing I would've suggested. I close the door every evening at dusk and open it a little after dawn. Who's up that early???

Wow... you're a lot like me in that aspect. I accidentally sat on a week old chick I was raising. I not only cried like crazy,I was so apologetic. I too had felt like I failed her. I get it. Listen,it's a continual learning experience. It wasn't intentional nor a lack of heart. You just do your best and that's all you can do. That's why I started this thread. So we could help one another out. Share stories and ideas. You know,my husband had a good question. Do y'all have a cat? Or a neighborhood cat? They too will go after the flock. Just an idea. As far as your rifle, does it have a light on the scope? (Also you could put up a drop light near the coop. Most animals will not even care. Raccoons don't. I know that from experience!

). Or,your wife can hold a flashlight so you can aim and make contact. At night,I'll usually use my 12 gauge because it's dark. And I don't have to be so precise with my aim. Updates are much appreciated! Good luck to you and your wife. Sounds fun actually......well without the predator part.

God bless.

 

[SemperChicken]

On behalf of my husband and I,thank you for your service.

Yes. You are right it does hurt. I know this is very discouraging. I wish I had known that you weren't closing the door at dusk. That's the first thing I would've suggested. I close the door every evening at dusk and open it a little after dawn. Who's up that early???

Wow... you're a lot like me in that aspect. I accidentally sat on a week old chick I was raising. I not only cried like crazy,I was so apologetic. I too had felt like I failed her. I get it. Listen,it's a continual learning experience. It wasn't intentional nor a lack of heart. You just do your best and that's all you can do. That's why I started this thread. So we could help one another out. Share stories and ideas. You know,my husband had a good question. Do y'all have a cat? Or a neighborhood cat? They too will go after the flock. Just an idea. As far as your rifle, does it have a light on the scope? (Also you could put up a drop light near the coop. Most animals will not even care. Raccoons don't. I know that from experience!

). Or,your wife can hold a flashlight so you can aim and make contact. At night,I'll usually use my 12 gauge because it's dark. And I don't have to be so precise with my aim. Updates are much appreciated! Good luck to you and your wife. Sounds fun actually......well without the predator part.

God bless.

My pleasure, but the real thanks goes to those who never made it home. Lest we forget.

The door that I wasn't closing was for the bigger coop. I'll link you to my thread (link here) I started when I was building the run for our pre-fab coop. We have a little Agri Supply coop and then we have our "mansion", if you will. Here's a picture.



So we have the smaller coop next to it so that we could give the pullets some time in front of the hens. Ya know, "look, but don't touch". Anyway, that coop is more secure so I don't feel like it's a risk to have them in there. The window and vent has hardware cloth tacked in to prevent any predators. I like it (the coop). Just wish I had the carpentry experience to have done it myself and maybe save a few bucks. I figured the run I could do myself since it's pretty straight forward: put posts in, attach wire, attach horizontal 2x4's... and you're done! lol. I've yet to put a top covering on. We have too much tree coverage for me to worry about hawks, plus there are a ton of crows around our backyard.

Anyway, feel free to comment on my thread regarding my coop/run building. Don't want to take the focus from this thread.

To add, regarding the predator we have, I laid down a layer of dirt and packed it smooth in front of the nesting box. I have the pullets inside the house, in our laundry room, so they are safe, but hopefully the predator leaves a good enough track indention for me to identify it. It's just too late this evening for us to hook up any electric fence wiring (which is what we're going to do in conjunction to adding hardware cloth over the chicken wire on the run).

ETA: our neighbor does have two outdoor cats. I have seen them snooping around our fence line, but not close to where it was concerning. We've lived here since January and we have even had the chickens free range constantly for the first several months because we had used the shed on our property as their living area. Risky, yes, but nothing happened that whole time. Couple times we forgot to close the shed door, but they were never attacked or anything. So, would an outdoor cat try and snatch a chick up in the middle of the night? Or morning before the sunrise? Especially if it hasn't shown any aggression in the past 7 months?

 

[Gloryjasmine]

My pleasure, but the real thanks goes to those who never made it home. Lest we forget. The door that I wasn't closing was for the bigger coop. I'll link you to my thread (link here) I started when I was building the run for our pre-fab coop. We have a little Agri Supply coop and then we have our "mansion", if you will. Here's a picture. So we have the smaller coop next to it so that we could give the pullets some time in front of the hens. Ya know, "look, but don't touch". Anyway, that coop is more secure so I don't feel like it's a risk to have them in there. The window and vent has hardware cloth tacked in to prevent any predators. I like it (the coop). Just wish I had the carpentry experience to have done it myself and maybe save a few bucks. I figured the run I could do myself since it's pretty straight forward: put posts in, attach wire, attach horizontal 2x4's... and you're done! lol. I've yet to put a top covering on. We have too much tree coverage for me to worry about hawks, plus there are a ton of crows around our backyard. Anyway, feel free to comment on my thread regarding my coop/run building. Don't want to take the focus from this thread. To add, regarding the predator we have, I laid down a layer of dirt and packed it smooth in front of the nesting box. I have the pullets inside the house, in our laundry room, so they are safe, but hopefully the predator leaves a good enough track indention for me to identify it. It's just too late this evening for us to hook up any electric fence wiring (which is what we're going to do in conjunction to adding hardware cloth over the chicken wire on the run). ETA: our neighbor does have two outdoor cats. I have seen them snooping around our fence line, but not close to where it was concerning. We've lived here since January and we have even had the chickens free range constantly for the first several months because we had used the shed on our property as their living area. Risky, yes, but nothing happened that whole time. Couple times we forgot to close the shed door, but they were never attacked or anything. So, would an outdoor cat try and snatch a chick up in the middle of the night? Or morning before the sunrise? Especially if it hasn't shown any aggression in the past 7 months?

Nice!!! Really good job. Do not intend to offend you....did you not fight and protect this nation just as hard as the others? With just as much heart and courage and faith? I understand what you mean. Well.... As much as I possibly can. Don't feel guilty because you made it home. God wasn't done with you. He needs you still to be a part of His Devine plan.

Ohhh ok. Gotcha!

Yep that's currently how I'm introducing my chicks to the rest of the flock. I have some mean hens!!!

Yea my husband and I built our coop and run ourselves. We aren't carpenters either! But we did manage. It's pretty neat...if I do say so myself.

Um... Tree coverage is exactly where hawks hang out. We are on 24 acres. Mostly pines. They're here everyday. As well as the annoying crows! I didn't know they weren't suppose to be.....what? Near each other? Hmmm interesting. I'd still roof it. Foxes and cats are great climbers. Just be safe. Ok cats I do know!! My all time favorite animal. They're really nocturnal. That's why they sleep all day and run up n down my home at night.

They're natural hunters. And their eyes work extremely well at night. Better than during the day. Yes. Yes I do. Outdoor cats are feral. They're wild. They hunt to eat since they don't depend upon humans to feed them. Even the ones that are fed by people will still have that natural instinct to hunt. Yup! Could very well be the cats. Look,you needn't worry about taking over anything! I'm learning from you too!! Just keep it coming!