GCSE Design and Technology Project

[ZacChickenOwner123]

Hi all, I'm doing a GCSE project on protecting chickens from foxes and or making it easier for the owners to care for their chickens. It would great if you guys could answer a few of these questions:

1) Have you lost any chickens to foxes?
2) Was it human error or lack of protection from the run?
3) Have you brought any products to protect your chickens and or make caring for them easier in the last year?
4) If so, what were some issues that you had with these products e.g. cost?

Thank you, Zac

 

[Perris]

hello @ZacChickenOwner123 , welcome to BYC
That sounds like a great project! Here are my answers

1. yes, but not since 2020
2. I don't have a run, my chickens sleep in small secure coops (GreenFrog / Nestera) and free range dawn to dusk, so the question doesn't really apply
3. no
4. n/a

My strategy is to keep heritage breeds that have good predator awareness, and roosters to keep watch, and raise chicks within this natural flock so they learn how to survive from the older members of the flock.

The birds I've lost to foxes were my first 3 that I let roost in trees (turns out they weren't roosting high enough to avoid jumping foxes), and my second three which were know-nothing pullets again starting from scratch. That's when I switched to heritage breeds, and my oldest birds (now 5 yrs old coming on 6) were acquired. Every year the flock has grown and gets better at evading predators. This year, to date, I've not even lost a single chick (out of 12, in 3 clutches) to fox or hawk. Really they can look after themselves, if they've got the right genes and are living in the right environment (not confined, and plenty of places to run and hide).

Good luck with your project!

You might want to repost on the UK thread, as those readers will know what a GCSE is: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/uk-member-please-say-hi.655508/

 

[Shadrach]

Hello ZacChickenOwner123.
Welcome to BYC.
1) No
2) n/a
3) New coop, fencing, various anti parasite products
4) I've had many issues with the products I bought and to explain what these issues were would require more information than is suitable for an introduction post.

If you make a post in the relevant section and set up a poll you would probably get a better response.

 

[ZacChickenOwner123]

Thanks for your help!