Hello, I am new to BYC and have been raising my first flock of chickens since last April 2012. I have learned alot along the way. I started out with 30 chickens which consist of Jersey Reds, Cornish Rocks, Black Giants, Bantams, and Arracuanas. My backyard backs up to a woods and my coops are back there and we have lots of wild animals living in woods. I haven't had any chickens disappear or die from animals but I keep a radio inside the coop and keep it loud enough where predators can hear it from outside. I had worked on a barn one time where we had put food inside a fridge and raccoons where helping themselves. I tried all kinds of things that did not work and had realized they would not raid the fridge while we were working, which we kept a radio on while we worked so I decided to leave it on overnight one night and had success!! So when I built my coop, decided to put one inside there and has worked since. I also have Pekin ducks and Muscovys. Last month, one of our Pekins disappeared without a trace in the middle of the day. Our yard is fenced so the only explanation was that some kid stole her. I can't see a coon, hawk, or any other animal being able to fly away with a 4 lb duck without a trace.
