Good guard animal?

[OrganicFarmWife]

You don't just need to be home - you need to be home sitting outside waiting for the predator when it shows up. You're not going to get anything positive accomplished if you have to run and get the gun and then run out and shoot something all in a huff.


Electric fences only have flaws when they're set up improperly. When set up properly, they're hugely effective against everything from skunks on up to bears. Good dogs are of course useful, but they're not as good as good fences for what you're talking about.

I can clearly hear my animals from inside. And we have so far managed to take care of several racoons in a "huff"

 

[CrazyTalk]

I can clearly hear my animals from inside. And we have so far managed to take care of several racoons in a "huff"

If raccoons are a problem, your perimeter is a complete failure. Racoons are trivial to keep out.

You'll probably never hear a fox, and by the time you get out there half the flock will be dead. They kill that quick.

Reactionary measures cannot protect animals by definition.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

If raccoons are a problem, your perimeter is a complete failure. Racoons are trivial to keep out. 


You'll probably never hear a fox, and by the time you get out there half the flock will be dead. They kill that quick.


Reactionary measures cannot protect animals by definition.

Racoons are only a problem because we hunt the coyotes. We do not have a trapper for the raccoons, probably because the hide is not worth much.
We cannot fence our whole property, it would be terribly impractical and probably ineffective here anyway. We do have a secure coop and the back yard does have a fence but that is it. Fences only work as long as what you are protecting stays within it. I protect the chicken, the cats, the childern with the dogs help.
I agree hunting them so the numbers are low and so not a threat is better then reacting to their presence.

 

[Trefoil]

Generally speaking, a gun is not efficient predator control. If you need to use a gun, you have failed and probably lost some birds. The best way to have safe chickens is to completely predator proof your coop and run. Its not that hard and only needs to be done once. Aside from that, have an outside dog that is chicken friendly and then build your coop and run inside the dog fence, as well as letting the chickens free range inside the dog pen. An electric fence at the right height is very effective against dogs, they tend not to see it and think they've been struck by the hand of God. If you maintain the fence it can also work well against coons and most other predators, but it has to be altered to fit the animal you want to keep out.

 

[chcknluvr]

My brothers and sisters are homeschooled by my mom, so there is always someone home during the day. And yes, our main concern is protecting my younger siblings, ranging in age from 3 to 12. We will be much better prepared for another attack, and my brothers and sisters are never outside unless supervised by me or my mom or dad. We considered a gaurd dog, but we fear we would become attached to it and then if it got killed by predators, it would be even worse than losing our chickens. We do have an indoor dog, a boston terrior mix, but he didn't even give us a warning that the dogs were out there. If my dad hadn't looked out the window when he did, we could have lost all our chickens. We will be watching for the dogs to come back.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

My brothers and sisters are homeschooled by my mom, so there is always someone home during the day. And yes, our main concern is protecting my younger siblings, ranging in age from 3 to 12. We  will be much better prepared for another attack, and my brothers and sisters are never outside unless supervised by me or my mom or dad. We considered a gaurd dog, but we fear we would become attached to it and then if it got killed by predators, it would be even worse than losing our chickens. We do have an indoor dog, a boston terrior mix, but he didn't even give us a warning that the dogs were out there. If my dad hadn't looked out the window when he did, we could have lost all our chickens. We will be watching for the dogs to come back.

Good because they will. It is hard to loose a dog to an attack (I never did we were taught young that if we saw a dog fight to run for the house. As soon as we did our dog always took off and got away. Perhaps not what some were looking for but it is exactly what my parents wanted.)
As long as there is always an adult to watch, or if you can surround your property with a fence, then a guard animal is perhaps not nessisary. But I never stayed behind a fence growing up, and my children do not either, I do not want them too.
Once you have wild dogs, or any predator, they will come back until they are eliminated or their food source is. I know people hate the thought of killing an animal, but wild dogs are a serious threat.

 

[chcknluvr]

I agree about the fence and the dogs. We have way to much property to even consider fencing it all in, and it is perfect for my siblings to explore and play as long as an adult is with them. so the fence won't work. So our best bet is to just shoot the dogs if they come back, and hope we can prevent something like this from happening again.

 

[centrarchid]

I have two small children ages 2 to 4 years. Both got zapped but poultry netting they learn to avoid quickly. Unless your flock is large you can get by with fencing requiring less zap.

 

[Transform987]

I agree about the fence and the dogs. We have way to much property to even consider fencing it all in, and it is perfect for my siblings to explore and play as long as an adult is with them. so the fence won't work. So our best bet is to just shoot the dogs if they come back, and hope we can prevent something like this from happening again.

Dude get some emus

 

[MeepBeep]

I have two llamas that patrol my pasture area and they despise, chase and attack any K9 species and will alert to pretty much any other threat and generally take a defensive position, but as someone else said they are only effective within their fenced area and I don't know how effective they would be as a dedicated poultry protector as I use them to guard my goats...

Electric fences are a nice option but not legal in some areas and not always pleasing to the eye while in other areas they can be a maintenance nightmare when they are used for predator protection in areas that snow or have lots of vegetation since a predator protection requires low to ground hot strands... Those low strands will require you keep all vegetation cut short and cut away from the low stands and when it snows you need to shovel/remove snow from the entire fence perimeter and keep it free of drifts or else the low strands will short in the snow rendering the fence nearly useless...

IMO there is no one solution, you should consider all options and layer up as many as practical while being diligent...