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BabyGurl4

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Just found this site on accident but already loving it! I have 14 hens (various kinds), 2 Easter Egger female chicks and 2 Easter Egger male chicks. The males are 2 weeks younger. I noticed one of the older hens acting weird and googled it, apparently she was broody so I figured ehh, what the heck, I'll grab a few chicks lol. This is my 2nd time having chickens. Last summer I had a few but 1 morning I walked out to toss feed and get eggs and it was a bloody massacre! RACOONS! UGHHHH! So we got some live traps and we've been catching raccoons, 'possums and dang neighborhood cats! So when egg prices went up we decided to try again but making the coop more sturdy since the predators were getting in through the top so we secured it a lot better, so far so good.
ANYWAYS, lol, I signed up on this site to learn everything I can and also share things I've learned! Thank you all for having me! 💕
 
Welcome to the site!

Sorry to hear the raccoons got to your flock. They're shockingly dexterous, and I've heard you need to use more elaborate locks/handles to outsmart them (which end up outsmarting me, as well 😑).

Do you have any pictures of your Easter Eggers that you'd like to share?
 
thecatumbrella said:
Welcome to the site!

Sorry to hear the raccoons got to your flock. They're shockingly dexterous, and I've heard you need to use more elaborate locks/handles to outsmart them (which end up outsmarting me, as well 😑).

Do you have any pictures of your Easter Eggers that you'd like to share?
Click to expand...
Yeah, we had to wire the top of the outside "run" part and wrap the 3" around the next layer, so fun.... lol. We used pallets from my job, only paid 25 cents for them. But its bowed in because of the animals walking on top of it trying to get in. Even left some pokers sticking out. The chicks are having their rolling in the dirt time. Lol. So adorable!
 

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I don’t want to be critical but I think you still have safety issues. Chicken wire is pretty much useless to keep predators out. It will contain your chickens but anything weaker or bigger gaps than 1/2 inch hardware cloth will not protect them from predators. Weasels can get through openings the size of a quarter and will kill a flock in minutes. Racoons, stray dogs, foxes, rats etc will get through chicken wire in no time. I had never thought we had weasels where I lived, had never seen one but after a few years of chicken keeping I saw them in the yard in the middle of the day. A roof will keep your overhead predators and climbers out. You should also consider a barrier around the base of the run/coop to keep digging predators out. Many will bury a 2-3 foot wide skirt of hardware cloth or use some type of pavers around the perimeter. Also, latches should be secured as raccoons are very smart and able to open latches and some folks have to make sure curious children or other 2 legged creatures don’t get in either.
Many of us have learned the hard way ( myself included and unfortunately you experienced it as well and). Good luck but check out the forums on predators as suggested.
 

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