Depredation

[PirateGirl]

I would use cayenne pepper around the coup first. I have shot animals with firearms and they came back for more (a recent raccoon was shot with 6 rounds if 22lr, and it came back the following night and still took a hen, leaving its own blood all over the coop. See my previous post).

Do you get whole dried peppers or just sprinkle the powder around? Does this help with rodents as well as predators?

 

[PirateGirl]

As for the pellets, you could use alternate, lead free pellets, or steel bbs

I still wouldn't really want the birds to eat them, but the lead free pellets probably pass right through their system eventually without any toxicity.

 

[TheBlueShepard]

Do you get whole dried peppers or just sprinkle the powder around? Does this help with rodents as well as predators?

Powder like you get in the herb section at the grocery store, the cheap stuff works, and it will work for anything that has a nose. I use it on my garbage cans to keep Critters out of those. One Sniff and they want no more.

 

[TheBlueShepard]

I still wouldn't really want the birds to eat them, but the lead free pellets probably pass right through their system eventually without any toxicity.

As long as they are non-toxic, it can't be all that different one on the rocks and Pebbles they swallow for their gullets

 

[Shadrach]

What about a crossbow? Lots of jurisdictions either dont care or dont address them at all.

The proper hunters here hunt with crossbows and hunt at night. It's illegal.
We also have a bunch of halfwits that call themselves hunters that run around the woods letting off over sized firearms at anything that moves. This lot apparently are legal.

 

[TheBlueShepard]

The proper hunters here hunt with crossbows and hunt at night. It's illegal.
We also have a bunch of halfwits that call themselves hunters that run around the woods letting off over sized firearms at anything that moves. This lot apparently are legal.

I mean... Discretion and safety AR all that matter, right? That and evidence...

 

[Shadrach]

To those who have already replied, in regards to a sling shot or pellet gun particularly, do you worry about your birds potentially eating your ammunition (whatever that may be) if you miss a shot? I find myself a bit paranoid at times about stray lead in the run.

Has anyone used a paintball gun as a deterrent on larger predators? I know DOW encourages hazing of animals that have grown used to people in populated areas, and sometimes a kill is not warranted. Sometimes we want predators to simply move on and not grow comfortable in our neighborhood and not view our coops or our trash cans or our compost piles etc. as a food source. I feel this applies particularly to bears, but also coyotes and raccoons in this part of the country. I have often thought a blast from a paintball gun would scare off a predator and perhaps it would hesitate to return. I also thought if there was a purple painted coyote running around I'd know it's the same one coming back vs. a new one in the area. I've yet to try a paintball gun myself, and never really hear anyone talk of it, and wonder if that's because it's inefficient or just seldom used.

I use 6mm steel balls. I've not had a chicken swallow one yet. Generally with a slingshot you are quite close to the target and missed shots are relatively easy to find. Being round and smooth I would hope if a chicken did swallow a ball it would pass straight through.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Do you get whole dried peppers or just sprinkle the powder around? Does this help with rodents as well as predators?

I’ve tried it with bird feeders, it not an effective long term way to keep critters away unless you’re committed to putting out pepper all the time.

They might back off the pepper when they encounter it, but if it rains, etc. they come right back...

So they’re just avoiding the pepper when present (maybe) ... but it doesn’t “teach” them to stay away.... so if it works at all it’s a short term solution at best.

 

[TheBlueShepard]

I’ve tried it with bird feeders, it not an effective long term way to keep critters away unless you’re committed to putting out pepper all the time.

They might back off the pepper when they encounter it, but if it rains, etc. they come right back...

So they’re just avoiding the pepper when present (maybe) ... but it doesn’t “teach” them to stay away.... so if it works at all it’s a short term solution at best.

Ditto

 

[OhZark Biddies]

The proper hunters here hunt with crossbows and hunt at night. It's illegal.
We also have a bunch of halfwits that call themselves hunters that run around the woods letting off over sized firearms at anything that moves. This lot apparently are legal.

If they’re using methods and hours that are illegal, then they are poachers not hunters

Here we get a lot of clueless knuckleheads with no woodsman ship skills that get themselves a gun too... but if they follow the regulations they are hunters, just the same.