Entire coop wiped out last night :(

[Triple Willow]

I recommend an electric wire around the bottom of your coop and possibly one around the top too. I haven't seen an animal yet that electricity won't make them have some respect. If you don't have electricity at your coop you can (1) run an extension cord, (2) get a 12 volt battery operated charger or (3) get a solar charger. I once had a fence charger set up in a building with electricity, drilled a very small hole in the mortar between the blocks in the wall, ran the insulated hot and ground wires out the small hole, attached the ground wire to a rod in the ground outside the building, ran the insulated hot wire out to where the electric fence was (maybe 75-100 feet). The insulated hot wire was ran up high through trees where I had nailed insulators. This setup worked for years. One thing I would definitely do different is to put one of the new lightening arresters on the fence to prevent it from running in on the box.

 

[Triple Willow]

I am so sorry for your loss . That would suck, a lot!!!
What I don't understand is, how didn't you hear anything?
When even a little hawk fly's over my hens and rooster go crazy, so I know exactly when the flock is under attack.

My coop is far enough away from the house that I don't hear my birds at all. I didn't even know my young roosters were crowing until they started doing it when I was out at the coop. The air-conditioner running also blocks out a lot of the outdoor sounds. I can understand not hearing anything should an attack happen even in the daytime.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

Quote:
Oh, O.K, My coop is fairly close to my house and when we are on our top verandah we can see the run, so I can see and hear most things.

 

[Triple Willow]

Oh, O.K, My coop is fairly close to my house and when we are on our top verandah we can see the run, so I can see and hear most things.

I wish my coop was closer. I'd like to have a security camera out there... and I just might do that. lol

 

[graybeard]

I recommend an electric wire around the bottom of your coop and possibly one around the top too. I haven't seen an animal yet that electricity won't make them have some respect. If you don't have electricity at your coop you can (1) run an extension cord, (2) get a 12 volt battery operated charger or (3) get a solar charger. I once had a fence charger set up in a building with electricity, drilled a very small hole in the mortar between the blocks in the wall, ran the insulated hot and ground wires out the small hole, attached the ground wire to a rod in the ground outside the building, ran the insulated hot wire out to where the electric fence was (maybe 75-100 feet). The insulated hot wire was ran up high through trees where I had nailed insulators. This setup worked for years. One thing I would definitely do different is to put one of the new lightening arresters on the fence to prevent it from running in on the box.

You can get a solar power electric fence system for around $100-150 at your local Tractor supply or my method of defense, livestock dog. 2 pit bulls that sleep on either side of the coop at night. It's an investment to get a dog and train it properly, but you can't beat protection that doesn't break down or malfunction. Best of luck to you with controlling the predators.

 

[chloechickens01]

This happened to me once. It killed 17 out of my 21 chicks. Im pretty sure it was a fox because we have a lot of those around where I live. Its hard to deal with, I remember walking out in the morning and there was just 3 bodies with no heads, and 4 alive chicks huddled in the corner. It was really sad.

 

[mtn2mama]

Our chickens free-range during the day but have a coop with chain link enclosure around and on top. Yesterday while they were still outside a hawk got after one of them. I heard a frightened squawking and looked outside just in time to see one of our young amber links sprinting for safety with a hawk flying about 6 inches over her. When we went to look for her we found two small piles of feathers and thought the worst. We looked for her for a long time and had just about given up but then she just appeared. We live in the woods and she must have been scared and hiding until she felt safe enough to join the rest of the group. We were lucky.