Hens sleeping up in a tree now????

[flgardengirl]

Owls get guineas who roost in the trees all the time, they will get hens as well. If they are darker colored it is better than if they are lighter colored and show up better at night but they can still be eaten. Put a run around your coop and lock them in the fenced area during the day so they can't go in the tree. i'd keep them penned until they learn to like thier coop. If you really want them to freerange, I guess you could put up a fenced run around the coop and give a treat every day inside the run, late in the afternoon well before they go to roost and then lock them in the run so they go to roost in the coop at night. Then let them freerange in mornings and early afternoon only.

If your run is too sunny try putting some shadecloth over the top of part of it so they have some shade. Your run should be covered on top with at least netting or chickenwire. Make sure they are cooped at night if you don't have a really predator proof run.

 

[saladin]

No doubt about it if you ever develop an Owl problem with free-range birds it is very difficult to stop (except by penning the birds) since Owls are a protected species. Fortunately, I've not had much of an Owl problem thru the years. You'll know if it is an Owl easily: an Owl only takes the head of the bird and leaves the body.

I have had an Eagle problem though. The juvenile Bald Eagles can take a rather large chicken during the day. They to are hard to stop.

Still, with all the predators I have: Coyotes, Opposums, Owls, Rats, Snakes, Eagles, and Hawks, I still like to free-range all my stags until they are around 10 months old then they get penned or go on tie-cords. The hens have around 1 acre to play in. The pullets have to make do with smaller areas until they get chosen for the flock.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Please put your hens up at night. Sooner or later something will find them in that tree and kill them. Predators are everywhere. They all love eating chicken.

 

[greytmommy]

i agree....pen them up.

We had 4 hens that kept getting up in the tree at night (b/c it has been SO hot here). I had to leave them b/c my husband was out of town and I just couldnt reach them to put them back in the coop. They were fine for about a week, then last night 4 were up there at night fall...and only 3 were there this morning.

And they were all dark colored chickens and hard to see in the tree. So today since my hubs was back, he cut down the branch they were getting on to fix the problem. (they would jump up to the top of the chainlink fence, then hop up to the tree branch and just go higher and higher from there....they have been at least 11ft up or more).