Help me stop the carnage!

[cmom]

Here we have a variety of predators, mostly coyotes. A fox at a grow-out coop. I have electric wire around the pens and coops netting covering the pens and concrete under the gates all do to losses from predators in the past.

 

[cmom]

You can buy something like a flock block that will keep them occupied while you're gone.

 

[TARDIS37379]

I lost my entire flock to a dog in about 2 minutes.
My coop was automated but the dog was able to defeat the closed door automation and kill 18 chickens in 2 minutes.
I knocked down the old coop and rebuilt a more secure coop and runs for the new birds who were two months old earlier this week.

The runs came from here:
http://www.chickencoopoutlet.com/index.php?route=common/home
And the coop from Home Depot, it’s a Lifetime Garden Shed and it’s made with plastic resin.
The doors came from chickendoors.com
It wasn’t cheap but so far it’s worked great. Cameras monitor the runs and coop and the cameras watch for motion at night. I get alerted if something is near the outside of the doors.

 

[wildcat hunter]

A 2 legged predator maybe ? Go with the trail -cam and see what is coming around the pen. Animal lover or not you may have to set some traps and dispose of whatever you catch.

 

[black_fleet]

View attachment 1873772 View attachment 1873771 I lost my entire flock to a dog in about 2 minutes.
My coop was automated but the dog was able to defeat the closed door automation and kill 18 chickens in 2 minutes.
I knocked down the old coop and rebuilt a more secure coop and runs for the new birds who were two months old earlier this week.

The runs came from here:
http://www.chickencoopoutlet.com/index.php?route=common/home
And the coop from Home Depot, it’s a Lifetime Garden Shed and it’s made with plastic resin.
The doors came from chickendoors.com
It wasn’t cheap but so far it’s worked great. Cameras monitor the runs and coop and the cameras watch for motion at night. I get alerted if something is near the outside of the doors.
View attachment 1873772

I love it it's like a chicken fortress.

 

[aart]

I knocked down the old coop and rebuilt a more secure coop and runs for the new birds who were two months old earlier this week.

Nice!
Welcome to BYC! @TARDIS37379
You should start a new thread here showing your coop and run build.
I would love to see more of it.

 

[k24dogs]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned owls as a possible predator. I had call ducks disappearing even though we locked them up at night. We would find them with only their heads missing. It turned out that a great horned owl had learned our routine and was hunting them as soon as we let them out in the morning at dawn or at dusk right before they were put away. I also blamed raccoons initially, but raccoons aren’t nearly as neat about it. We lost 5 call ducks before we finally realized what was happening. Changing our schedule by 30 minutes or so in the morning and evening helped. It was too light for the owl to hunt with the schedule change.

 

[member 158781]

Perhaps a short electric netting fence around the whole coop for now? Just an idea until you can find a better solution. I've also locked up all my chickens once in the garage while away. Large fan. Plenty of food and plenty of water. Good luck.

 

[fawnda]

Keep them locked up unless they have supervision or a protected run. Make sure your coop/pen is predator proof when you return. Always lock them up at night. https://www.cwrescue.org/predatorproofhousing

 

[ThoughtfulBiped]

You might consider getting some traps, live or otherwise, catch the varmints and put them in the ground or feed them back to your flock in the form of a "larva bucket." It is heartbreaking to see your friends disappear. Had an issue with a bobcat a few years ago, lost two dozen birds (all the named favorites of course) in a little over a month, it was breeding season for the cats, can't really blame them. Thankfully it moved on and haven't seen it since, maybe it ticked off the wrong person in the neighborhood.