Hey Gang! Whatcha think of my plans and Rooster issue?

[TonySorrento]

Been watching your thread, going good so far. With the closer pictures of your run brought something I have a question about. Does the run have a buried barrier to keep them in and the predators out?

Not yet, but it will ... right now just letting them out while I am home ....

 

[azygous]

Tony, do you know what kind of predators you have there? Do you have bears and bobcats, by any chance?

 

[highpointfarm]

HE should.. we live pretty close to each other and I do... SPEAKING OF WHICH.. There is a MOUNTAIN LOIN that lives in the woods behind my house OMG... I ran him off last wednesday... THAT CRAP IS SCARY

 

[azygous]

Mountain lion is one critter I haven't had attack my coops and run. (So far) When you're dealing with major predators, it really can be quite daunting if you've suffered an attack because you were unprepared, and the varmint keeps coming back, and you are behind the curve because you haven't figured out a way to protect against them yet.

Big cats will jump on the sides of the pen and coop, trying to find a vulnerable spot. In my case, it was a gate that didn't have a good latch/lock, and the gate swung open after the big bobcat jumped on it, the chickens all fled, and it nabbed the oldest and slowest one. When the cat came back a few days later (they always return), I got a chance to observe it circling the pen, jumping on the fencing every few feet, looking for a way in.

In the case of bears, they will demolish the infrastructure, trying to get at the chickens. The only way to protect against them is a hot wire with peanut butter at intervals. I sure hope you don't have any. They're the worst predator there is to deal with.

All of the large predators will attempt to climb the fence - a good argument to get the pen covered with a secure material.

Trust me, it's much better to anticipate predators and prepare ahead for them, than to be unprepared and lose favorite chickens. In the case of most predators, they probably won't keep returning if they're unsuccessful at penetrating your defenses on the first try.

 

[highpointfarm]

A-We have a HUGE pen, like 100x120. So everynight we let the chickens in the coop and lock a SMALL door, so a loin shouldnt be able to get off the ground...
B our coop is 6 feet of the ground to help against bears... We live in upstate NY so we have more than enough of our population of bears....
C- Im only 16 so I plan on having a hard getting the mountain loin taken care of...
D- I am home practically 24/7, so last time he came through I heard my roosters going crazy, went out their and he was way back in the woods but I could still see him...... So I just ran back their, and he/she took off.....
Dont really know what I am going to do

 

[TonySorrento]

Tony, do you know what kind of predators you have there? Do you have bears and bobcats, by any chance?

AZ ... coyote, fox, coon, possum, skunk, weasel, .... no bear, mountain lion, or bobcats ... I think Caleb lives in the zoo Anyway, got some awesome picks ... these chickens are so ....chicken when it comes to new things ... it took them hours to explore beyond the dirt

My Dorking

My Buttercup cockerel

EEers with BR

 

[azygous]

HE should.. we live pretty close to each other and I do... SPEAKING OF WHICH.. There is a MOUNTAIN LOIN that lives in the woods behind my house OMG... I ran him off last wednesday... THAT CRAP IS SCARY

Caleb, is it? Do you have a 12 gauge shotgun at your house? Next time your parents go into town for shopping, have them stop by a gun store and buy some rubber shotgun loads. There are a number of people on these threads that would make fun of trying to discourage a major predator with rubber loads, but I've shot both bears and bobcats with the rubber shot, which is very hard plastic the size of marbles, and just as hard, and they never returned once I got a direct hit.

It's far better than trying to kill the predator and just wounding it. Then it can be supremely dangerous. The only drawback is you need to be within 50 yards for the shot to reach its target. If the lion does get bolder and comes in close to the pen, you should have it loaded and ready.

Tony, I'm sure the small predators you do have will be challenge enough without your suffering regret you don't have anything bigger to deal with. It seems once you have chickens, the entire population of meat eating wildlife thinks you're running a meat market.

 

[highpointfarm]

Caleb, is it? Do you have a 12 gauge shotgun at your house? Next time your parents go into town for shopping, have them stop by a gun store and buy some rubber shotgun loads. There are a number of people on these threads that would make fun of trying to discourage a major predator with rubber loads, but I've shot both bears and bobcats with the rubber shot, which is very hard plastic the size of marbles, and just as hard, and they never returned once I got a direct hit.

It's far better than trying to kill the predator and just wounding it. Then it can be supremely dangerous. The only drawback is you need to be within 50 yards for the shot to reach its target. If the lion does get bolder and comes in close to the pen, you should have it loaded and ready.

Tony, I'm sure the small predators you do have will be challenge enough without your suffering regret you don't have anything bigger to deal with. It seems once you have chickens, the entire population of meat eating wildlife thinks you're running a meat market.

Unfortunaltey I dont have a 12 gauge..... My parents really dont like guns

it is understandable, many small children running around 24/7, I am trying to talk them into letting me get a shotty.... I have heard of many cases where rubber shells work... All we have is 22... I am a pretty good shot, but not good enough to put a round in a moving cougars eye..... UGHHHH Hopefully the loin wont.. it is 50 feet from the house, everyday, we have motocross, quads, and the like racing around for a few hours.. But I guess since he came anywhere near us he is pretty brave as is....

AZ ... coyote, fox, coon, possum, skunk, weasel, .... no bear, mountain lion, or bobcats ... I think Caleb lives in the zoo

LOL I do dont I =] I am rather sure black bears are native to all of NY state... Correct me if I am wrong...

 

[TonySorrento]

Yes they are ... and they will pass thru here ... but it is rare...

 

[highpointfarm]

yeah we had one in our trash for a whole week straight every morning at 5:00 am on the dot xD we chased him off so many times though he finally gave up lol Hopefully I never have to deal with them as predators...