Chicken wire won't stop a determined coon

[susanpattersonmom]

Our raccoons do not chew through the chicken wire they take the chickens through it in small pieces. I did not know they could chew through it!

We live way out in the boonies and it is hard to keep all the predators out as it is. All the hens and turkeys that we can find go into the chicken house at night cause that is the only thing that the cougars can't get into. The dogs help to keep the coyotes away and nothing slows the raccoons down but shooting them in the act. I am not a good shot and shot the tires out of my husband's dump truck and he was a little upset about it, but I did get that raccoon.

I am getting very discouraged as any time any of the birds are hiding out at night they don't come home again and there is always one or two that are on nests that don't want to come home. We started with 60 pullets and 30 guinea hens and 11 turkeys. We are down to about 30 hens, 6 guinea hens and 5 turkeys. The birds free range during the day. I recently lost a pair of American Buff geese to the cougar,I think, as there was no evidence of digging in or holes in the fence but it could easily jump over, which the coyotes wouldn't so close to the house. It was within 50 feet of the house.

I am very tired of feeding the wildlife and would like to know if anyone has had experience of livestock guardian dogs to protect poultry.

 

[TrulyFowl]

Sweet Cheeks, thanks for the feedback. We are new to ducks, and I've been concerned about what kind of flooring should be put down in the pen. In the chickens' pen, it's just hard-packed dirt and a little straw and leaves to rake out occasionally. But I know ducks make a mess, so we wanted to get on top of the drainage situation right from the beginning.

My worry about leaving just pea gravel as the top layer is two-fold:

- Is it hard on the little webbed feet?

- We're in California, in the middle of a drought, so I don't want to have to continually wash down the surface. I thought if there was another layer on top, I could rake it out daily, and then wash it every few days or so.

So, I'm generally confused about the best way to proceed. I think I need to post this question on the duck forum as well. Thanks again for the input!

 

[TrulyFowl]

Susan - we have a six year old Rhodesian/Boxer mix. She was a rescue dog that we adopted as a puppy, and to our surprise, she has just turned out to be a natural guardian dog. She has never so much as mouthed any bird, and will lay in the middle of the yard, watching over her small flock. If I hadn't watched her personality develop in this direction, I would never trust ANY dog around our chickens except a livestock guardian dog, and my choice would be an Anatolian Shepherd. They are BIG dogs, but if I lived out in the boonies like you do, I would have two of them. I definitely think a couple of good dogs could be your solution to the predator issue. Good luck with your search.

 

[susanpattersonmom]

Thanks!

I have been trying to find any type of livestock guardian dog that I can, there aren't alot of them around here. I did find a lady that works with rescued ones but she is not sure that she has any that would work for me right now. I have been looking for over a year now and it seems like there would be more of them around. I understand that some of them just like to guard sheep or goats and are not good for poultry. That would be nice too as we also have lost a goat to a young cougar that got scared off the kill. It is always the nice goat too! Her sister is still with us but she is difficult to milk and has a foul personality. I am hoping that age will mellow her but I have doubts too.

 

[TrulyFowl]

A few years back, when we thought we would be moving into a more rural area, I did research into the livestock guardian dogs, specifically with poultry in mind. After reading and talking to breeders in CA, I zeroed in on the Anatolian Shepherd as the best choice. They guard all livestock, but breeders told me they are great with poultry as well. It seems that they need to be raised from puppies with the poultry and not as pets, and they will grow up to stick with and guard their "flock". I'd be interested in hearing what others have to say about livestock guardian dogs, but maybe that's another thread?