Gophers stealing chicken feed!

[Timothy Menezes]

So this is a new one on me, my main feeder in the coup is on a concrete pad so it’s safe. But I have been placing 2 smaller feeders outside on the ground as I have 2 groups of chickens, and 1 group of ducks. The older chickens are territorial with the younger pullets and the ducks. I spaced out the feeders so everyone has access to feed.

New problem is gophers! I kept having to move the feeders on the dirt as a gopher hole would pop up right beside the feeder. Until now it was no big deal and really didn’t think they were stealing all that much feed, until today.

Just now I went to retrieve a new unopened bag of feed that was set beside my shed after a recent shopping trip. I wasn’t intending to leave it out but in unloading the kids and groceries it just went unheeded.

I picked up the bag and it’s over halfway gone, the thieving little gophers drilled right in the bag from underneath and dam near emptied it!

 

[IamRainey]

So many creatures thrive on chicken feed! So many reasons to hate gophers!

Thank goodness you made the discovery before you didn't have anything to feed your flock!

I think the only solution is a sturdy storage shed on a concrete pad with latches secured by carabiner clips. And put some insect traps in there with the bags or it will get infested by them too.

You can do it now or after you've fed all manner of field vermin. My shed was my birthday present shortly after we built our coop.

The good news is once you set your shed up you'll have a convenient storage spot for all the sundries that chicken keeping entails -- mats for the nesting boxes, bales of bedding, first aid supplies, Mama Heating Pad and brooder equipment, fly traps, etc. It's very handy to have all that stuff at the ready in proximity to your flock.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

A couple small animal traps and a 32 gallon trash can full of water turns gophers from "chicken feed stealers" to "chicken feed" !

I even have an idea what may work for bait.