built huge run to keep neighbors dog from killing our girls but now have another predator....oyyyy

[farmtotable]

You could also try adding a couple of guinea fowl to your flock. All of our critters free range, and the guineas are the most amazing alarm system I've ever had. We have two guinea hens, and they actually made a coyote back off. I would never have believed it until I saw it happen. They scared it away in the time it took me to run inside for the .22 I've read a few articles that said a big enough flock of guineas could theoretically kill some of the more common predators, and having seen my two girls in action I totally believe it.

Our guineas live with the chickens in their coop, and free range at during the day. I've read that people have trouble "coop training" them, and that they want to roost in the woods or whatever, but that wasn't the case with ours. They follow the chickens around wherever they go, and lay in the same nesting boxes. They are usually the first ones to go to be at night!

Our hobby farm backs up to a wood line, so we have pretty much every predator around (coons, hawks, eagles, owls, mink, weasels, coyotes, bobcats, etc...) and our predation rates have dropped significantly since getting the guineas. I don't think it's possible to make a predator proof enclosure, although we've tried our hardest to do it. I've had weasels chew through hardware cloth, and I watched in horror as a mink dragged a Pekin duck underneath a shed, even though the mink's hole was only about an inch wide. So far, out of all the reinforcements my husband has done to all our outbuildings, the guineas have been the best deterrent.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Really? Wow, that's amazing! Whe. We get chickens, maybe well have to consider guineas! Are they noisy? And do you care for them about the same as you would a chicken orr?

 

[snochicken]

I had a bobcat come here last August and kill 6 of my 12 spring chickens, just as they were about to start laying. The chickens had their door to outside nailed shut for a couple months until I could create the "electric dome" around their yard to keep kitty away [and wiley coyote and rocky raccoon]
here is the bobcat with half a chicken he tore up through the chain link fence
we have electric fence at 6" 14" 25" & 36" around chain link dog kennel with plastic mesh over the top, because we have had red tail hawk kills as well. It's wild and woolly here 35 miles NE of Seattle!

 

[subhanalah]

On one of the coop pages, or possibly the brooder thread, there was an individual who had netting made specifically for snow, there was 2 ft of snow on the ground and not even a flake on the overhead netting. Sorry I can't provide a link, I should have bookmarked it, it was in a LONG thread, that's all I know. Maybe you can Google snow netting or something like that.

 

[snochicken]

we got 4 guineas last summer and 2 of them made it through the bobcat attack. I lost the pure white one and a lavender
. Still have another lavender and a purple They have lived all winter in a chicken tractor. They really want to get out and sit in the trees, but I'm keeping them in for about another month, until things aren't quite so hungry.

 

[drumstick diva]

too bad you didn't have a gun aimed at him instead. I hope he choked on the bones.

 

[blucoondawg]

My daughter went to check on our 3 remaining girls at 3pm, in their new run that my husband erected after losing 2 of our girls on very cold, snowy day to neighbors dog that entered the coop, girls wouldn't leave because of 6 inches of snow on ground, only to find her favorite New Hamp. Red with it's throat ripped open, no feathers on her breast, thinking it was a hawk. Racoons are nocturnal, foxes would have had to dig under to get in and usually hunt at dusk, eagles would have likely carried whole bird off, owls also nocturnal but usually go for head, leaving body and no way was dog. Long story short we used 7ft tall welded wire fencing, almost 200ft of it in a L-shaped configuration around several cedar tress, my husband's work shed. We've never had a problem with any other predator except the neighbors dog. We spent a lot of time and money getting it up, not to mention the crazy weather we've been dealing with, one day ground frozen, next day swamp. Thinking hawk possibly entered coop and grabbed her while she was laying, feathers all over coop floor and her body right outside of door. So what do we do now for deterrent for the hawks. Read about the dangling CD's, fake owl, scarecrow but thinking going to have to resort to nylon netting. Has anyone had experience with this and it being effective for large runs, with trees. It looks really heavy and would likely have to be cut to suit shape of our run and trees. My husband wants to try crisscrossing wire over the top of the entire run, if we did that what is the largest the openings can be to keep hawk out, from videos I've seen it looks like they can get thru small openings. The netting is $45 for 50ft by 50ft on Amazon. Any advice at all is appreciated. Below is netting would be purchasing and would likely have to supplement with deer netting and crisscross wires. Anyone use crisscross wire technique successfully? Thanks so much for any advice. RIP Lucy girl, an aptly named crazy beloved, red-head

I ordered the 2" square. Netting from Amazon for my run it works great. I got the 25x50 size as my run isn't as large as yours but is also odd shaped. I didn't cut it to size I just draped it over and gathered it up around the edges and tied it off to the top of the fence all around the edge with plastic cable ties. I stretched a nylon rope tightly across the run in the wider spaces to hold up the netting. Everyone says snow will ruin this netting but I live in northern Wisconsin and we have had over 60 inches of snow so far this year, the snow doesn't stick to this netting at all. I don't have to shake it off or anything. I could see snow being troublesome with a smaller mesh but the 2" works great for me

 

[farmtotable]

Really? Wow, that's amazing! Whe. We get chickens, maybe well have to consider guineas! Are they noisy? And do you care for them about the same as you would a chicken orr?

Yup, same care, same food. They are incredibly noisy, louder than roosters even, but that's part of what makes them such a great alarm system. When the guineas go off, our whole flock hides. They have a very distinctive "predator" alert, I can't really even describe it, like a loud chittering. I can hear it in the house, so I know when to come running with a gun!

 

[ShrekDawg]

That's convenient then and they're really that loud? Wow, maybe we should just get a roo then! Haha we didn't really want a roo because even though we're set back in the woods, on 3 acres, and have tons of room in the front; in the back, the neighbors are right on top of us so we didn't want a loud roo. Plus I don't know if I'd like that. But maybe we should get one, if guineas are that loud. Don't know. Or would they be okay just hens? I know there's not really such a thing as a "quiet" rooster and it varies per bird and breed, plus each person has their own experiences, but do you know of a quieter roo? I've heard of certain breeds being more friendly and calm but never heard of a quiet one.

 

[shoregirl68]

I call it the mother nature tax. If its not coons, its hawks. I've killed every coon within a mile of my place, but I just let the hawks have one every now & then.

I tried the netting, but the first snow & it was all down on the ground.

Do you have a rooster? Roosters try to keep an eye out for hawks & will sound the alarm when he see's one.

Unfortunately we have to deal with predators - EVERYTHING eats chicken.

We lost another last week so with one remaining I gave her to my chicken guru, I had purchased my girls from him. I was so worried she would become stressed and get sick from the change so she's quarantined for the time. He called me the night I dropped her off, even he couldn't believe she laid an egg in the dog kennel she is confined to...love (and miss her). When I texted him later in the week he referred to her as the little queen. An egg every other day!. I took my daughter yesterday for a visit with some meal worm treats...she looked fantastic. At least I know I was a good "mom" since she is still so healthy and sweet. Live and learn. We will start from scratch...lol soon and will likely use the netting from Amazon in addition to deer netting.

We live on the Eastern shore of Maryland and while we've had more snow than previous winter's....looking like today will be our worst storm of the season...hoping I didn't just jinx us.

midget_farms, if the snow brings the netting down, are you unable to put it back up? Just curious how you secured it to the run? Thanks for your reply