Help needed

[SAMnELLA]

I was out one day working in the yard letting the chickens get some free ranging time, a hawk swooped in and circled my chickens eye balling them - we hadn't been out there 20 min. I don't think they always make a noise.

That's because you're in Indiana. Florida hawks are noisy. lol

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

That's because you're in Indiana. Florida hawks are noisy. lol

Haha!

 

[lazy gardener]

What is wrong with my hen? She's getting dark in the face, Please advise.View attachment 1389688

Please start a new thread.

 

[featherhead007]

Please start a new thread.

I don't know how or I would have!

 

[pennyJo1960]

knock on wood .... praise to be have not lost one in 4 years never spread anything on top
did first year much smaller run but was chicken wire across the top took most of that down

 

[lazy gardener]

I don't know how or I would have!

Go to the Forums tab, then the emergencies... forums. Top right, you will see a blue tab that says: Post new thread. Hit that tab. You will then get to "name your thread" and type the first post. Be sure to include all pertinent information. There will be lots of folks who can help you.

 

[aart]

I’ve also laid down hardware cloth inder coop and in entire run area

Do you mean on the ground where the chickens will be scratching?

will be putting solar motion lights around

This will do little to dissuade predators.

 

[cindyloowhoo]

Thanks for all the feedback. Our coop is 4x10 and very secure and the run area is probably about 13’x13’ now. I’m usually home and when we do go away I have a someone who can come over and check that the girls are in their coop. Should I close their little chicken door at night? My SIL leaves hers open 24/7 and all hers go in their coop. Run will be fully enclosed and secure. Pray for the best

 

[cindyloowhoo]

Do you mean on the ground where the chickens will be scratching?

This will do little to dissuade predators.

Yes. The HW cloth is secure to prevent digging and anything managing to get through with over 2’ of dirt on top of that

 

[Birdsong 82]

Depending on the predators in your area chicken wire definitely will not work alone. My mother-in-law lost her entire flock within two months. She used stronger material when she rebuilt. Hardware cloth is horribly horribly expensive. And I have a huge run and could never afford to use all hardware cloth. We use 2 x 4 galvanized wire fencing and then wrapped chicken wire around that. We do use a 2 foot strip of hardware cloth around the very bottom and for the skirt. We also sandwich the fencing with wood so nothing can push in or out on it. We have all kinds of creatures of the night and day but haven’t lost Any chickens with this set up. And of course extra strength nylon poultry netting covering the top