Guarding the Chicken Coop

[HeatherUribe]

We just bought an 11 acre farm and inherited five hens and two roosters. The former owners had a large outside dog who guarded their property and sheep. We don't have sheep and our three dogs live indoors and wouldn't know how to guard much of anything. Short of getting another dog to perform guard duty, we are looking for protection for our two remaining hens. The hens were getting picked off slowly, which I didn't pick up on until just this morning...when I saw that our very "cocky" rooster was likely killed when there was evidence of a scuffle, eggs strewn everywhere, comb bits, and rooster feathers all over and trailing across one of our pastures. I saw him yesterday evening, but there is no sign of him today and he likes to struts around the property, so I'm pretty sure he's dead. To protect our two remaining hens and future hens and roosters, I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out how we can deter the fox/mink/weasel/raccoon/coyote/or whatever that has discovered the poultry buffet on our property. Short of getting another dog to guard outdoors, donkeys and pot belly pigs have been suggested to me. I was also thinking of guard geese. Has anyone used geese to protect chickens before? Right now, we don't have other livestock or farm animals other than our three dogs, but I am trying to save these chickens.

 

[thomasboyle]

Have you considered electric fencing? They sell electric nets 42" and 48" tall, 160 ft long, with fiberglass posts built into the netting. Buy 1 or 2 nets and a charger. Should protect from any land based predator. Won't do anything about hawks and other birds of prey though.

Welcome to small farm life!

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote: None of those things are really going to protect your birds.
You need a secure coop and run, and possibly some electric fencing

 

[Chick Charm]

If it is your purpose to protect them, then the only real solution would be the coop and run previously mentioned. Guard dogs do work but are not a cure all for pesky predators.

Wish you the best.

 

[centrarchid]

Short-term - confine remaining birds.

Long-term - I use integrated approach because I free-range multiple flocks that repressent multiple age classes over several acres during production season.
1) Cover and proper placement of feeders and waters can keep birds centered in area where they have at least limited escape opportunities.
2) Electric fencing as in electrified poultry netting can be effective against most ground predators and cover can help with many hawks.
3) Get a good standard sized rooster. Adult rooster operating from cover can detour hawks going after hens and chicks. Hawks are shut down by my combined use of cover and roosters.
4) Set traps out even when predators not getting into birds. That will reduce frequency of first loss from a given predator.
5) Electrified fencing around coop / roost can detour predators willing to challenge your containment.
6) Make certain birds roost well away from sides of containment.

A good dog or two makes so you can relax on other measures but I recommend still taking integrated approach even with dogs.

 

[ozarkchicks]

a rooster could help, a guard dog also works well, that is if you want to free range. if you aren't free ranging then try electric fencing

 

[HeatherUribe]

I have been opening up the coop every morning and shutting up my hens every evening. We also covered all the entry points--windows and eaves--with poultry wire, and so far so good. The hens are not coming out during the day like they once were, though. One is clearly brooding. She does not move at all. The other one who was so traumatized and running all over and had her eggs violated and scattered has now calmed down and seems to be brooding too. My next question is, would a hen brood dead eggs? Eggs were scattered. Not sure what to do, we gathered them up and returned them to her nest and sure enough she started sitting on them again.

 

[ozarkchicks]

interesting question, I'm curious to know if they would sit on dead eggs too

 

[Pathfinders]

I would follow the advice centrarchid suggests, all good stuff there.

And I will add, poultry wire (or chicken wire) is not an effective predator deterrent. It will keep chickens in, it will not keep predators out. To keep predators out you need hardware cloth (also called ratcloth), which is 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch welded wire mesh found at most feed stores. It can be stapled over most openings to keep predators out. Get a good "hammer" staple gun to assist you with this. Hardware cloth isn't cheap, but it beats losing your birds.

Sorry you're dealing with this, good luck with things as they go along.

 

[cowsr4eating]

Do you know for sure what your predators are? I've lost chickens to owls, snakes, hawks, foxes, coyotes, and dogs. We used to have donkeys, they helped with coyotes, dogs and foxes. Our neighbors have had raccoons shred chicken wire and kill all their flock. My husband finally built a coop out of tin with a concerted floor, woven wire for "windows" and a run that is covered. The run has a concrete footer and was made out of cattle panel with small wire. It is like Fort Knox. Finally we don't lose them if we leave them in the run and coop. We let some of them out during the day, but still lose one every once in a while. There is just no way to protect them completely all the time if you let them free range. Good Luck!