Crazy Mystery of all of my chickens combs being ripped one night

[glenwolde]

A baby monitor sounds like a good idea since the raccoons hasn't been caught but it will likely be hard to get them to sleep in the coop again

That is my concern too - how will I ever get them to feel safe in the coop again?

 

[lovesfarms]

If you can get sheer black fabric or lace it makes them feel more secure. I used to have foxes around, they couldn't actually touch the chickens but I had to force them to go in in the coop. After I put real thin fabric over it, they would go inside. I to wanted it open for ventilation.

 

[ariri30]

It will take a while but they will forget. I had a couple of chickens taken by what I think it was a opossum. They where terrified for a while to go into their coop at night. I put a auto door that closes at dusk and opens at dawn. They are secure now.

 

[lovesfarms]

It was torture for me as much as the chickens cause I felt so bad seeing them so fearful. After that, the dominant chicken went in the coop first and would actually walk around inspecting it before the others went inside

 

[Lilokieescorter]

A baby monitor sounds like a good idea since the raccoons hasn't been caught but it will likely be hard to get them to sleep in the coop again

I never thought about that, I hope & pray you can find one & your sweet babies can eventually go back to their coop! Thank you for the idea, my coop is out front of my house, but still far enough to not really hear.

 

[lovesfarms]

Good luck! Hopefully the raccoons are stuck in some one else's trap. I'm just so glad your chickens are alive!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

We discovered that there were 2 raccoons. We set out traps all week and caught 3 opossums. The raccoons haven't returned. My chicken babies have PTSD and start panicking after 8 pm. I put them in a dog crate in the garage every night now. I am searching for a baby monitor to place in the chicken coop so that I can put them back in the coop at night and hear any trouble activity. Does anyone do this? I am looking for a monitor where the baby unit works off of re-chargeable batteries.

There is only one narrow window. I was keeping the coop door open for ventilation in the hot summer. The coop door and the chicken run doors are always closed and locked at night!

Did you get rid of the possums?

Sorry to hear they are having a hard time going back in at night. It will take some time. If you feel that the coop is secure enough, then lock them in.

You may need to add some ventilation to the coop portion. They may be too hot in there too.

As for a baby monitor, do a search here on BYC, I'm sure someone uses them (likely threads about them too). I have a camera in my coop and one to see most of my run(s) but I don't have sound. Lots of people use some type of monitoring system.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

What a sad story! I'm sorry for your girls' injuries and trauma but glad they all survived. Thank you for sharing your experience and welcome to BYC.

 

[feather13]

So sorry this happened to you! Chickens are quite sensitive and can have PTSD-like symptoms for a long time. Recently a raccoon got into our coop (it's summer and I had been locking them up closer to sunset... big mistake) and killed our Dominque in the orchard. When I entered the coop to chase it out, the raccoon was literally standing over the RIR who was cowering. The RIR, who was a friendly, curious, confident girl now very rarely leaves the coop/run and I can tell she's still pretty shaken by the experience.

Unfortunately, in my experience the raccoons will return, so getting an audio or video baby monitor might be a good idea. Securing them in the coop in the late afternoon is also a good idea. Good luck and hope your girls start feeling better!

 

[Wolfefarmyard]

That coop looks quite small for 4 full size hens...