General pest control....geese???

[Suz'sChickens]

Hey everybody, wanted to ask an honest question. Everyone I know with chickens and predator dogs have been unhappy with their performance (for free range chickens). I have *heard* about using geese to protect chickens...any thoughts? I like geese and don't mind catering to them as far as a small swimming source and what not, I'm wondering about their efficacy at protecting chickens. It sounds a bit far fetched, but I've run from a few mean geese myself. I'd like to have geese that can be handled, but work for my chickens. Thoughts, please?

 

[nzpouter]

hawks and cats can get my goslings... what do you think..

 

[Suz'sChickens]

Haven't seen a cat nor hawk, LOTS of crows and I've seen this raccoon heading for my barn twice in the past past month. Both times I locked the chickens back up and found raccoon prints in the barn. Two chicken killed, about two weeks apart (NOT when I saw the raccoon him or herself, chickens were locked up...days later and in broad daylight chicken carcases were found), raccoon prints were found. Hence I'm stumped and can't figure anything could have gotten the two chickens (two separate occasions) other than the same raccoon.

I've baited with wet and dry cat food; I even tried eggs and even sardines. This thing is proving hard to trap, and I've trapped BIG raccoons before! Crazy... hence I'm so confused.

Thank you sincerely and keep it coming people, I've got the locals stumped too.

BTW, I LOVED your sig line....so true!

 

[Lollipop]

Suz, geese will head for the pond at night for their own safety. They may help with some predators during the day, but are no help at night.

Ganders can be very social, but none of the girls in my flock are approachable. I have white chinese and embden.

Having had unlimited experience with predators, especially coons, I can also testify to experiences with several families that wouldn`t approach a trap. I have a solution, but it`s not for sissies and can`t be posted here. PM me if you`re desperate.

 

[Suz'sChickens]

Lollipop,

Chickens are locked up at night. Attacks have been in broad daylight. There's nothing for the raccoons to eat right now, hence they have probably found they found my chickens. I sent you a PM...thoughts??? And thank you as well!

BTW, it was when I let the chickens out during broad daylight that the two chicken were killed, NOT while locked up. Just wanted to clarify!

 

[nzpouter]

have you got a trustworthy dog?

 

[Puff of Fluff]

Have you tried contacting the Wildlife Department? In some states they can be helpful in providing suggestions on how to detour different critters (skunks, deer, rabbits, coyotes, raccoons) or sometimes even set live traps to relocate problem wildlife.

I have some of the Chinese geese, I had gotten them when they were young to bring up to mainly to keep snakes away. I don't know if it is true or not, but I have not had anymore snakes around in the past two years. Only problem is one of the ganders is so mean that I have to take a honest to goodness wooden walking cane with me for protection every time I go into the chicken yard.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I'm sorry you've been losing chickens.

Do you mean the people you know where you live, have been unhappy with the protection from predators that their dogs have provided? Or maybe that should be lack of protection?

I think there are a lot of people on this forum that are very happy with the jobs their dogs have done. Our Maddie does a great job for us. I'm not saying you shouldn't explore other ideas, just letting you know that dogs are working well for a lot of people. If they're the right dogs for the job.

Also, I like having at least two dogs out at a time, to make them more effective if they end up in a fight with an animal. I'm not trying to sound bloodthirsty and cruel here, I just know that a big coon can jump on a dog and do a lot of damage. A second dog can take care of it and I also think taking on a pair of dogs probably looks like a really bad idea to a raccoon.

As for raccoon trapping, if the meaty foods aren't working, have you considered switching over to sweets? Baked goods or marshmallows? It's always worth a try. Raccoons can really have a sweet tooth. I hope you can get your problem resolved soon.