Hello. I'm a new chicken owner. This will be my second year with chickens. I am addicted and fairly confident that at some point we will have 50 + chickens! ha ha. They are so fun! I have had a rough year with my ladies since we moved and lost some due to predator attacks but am looking forward to this year now that we have built them a fortress. Still deciding whether they would rather have shorter free ranging lives or longer cooped up lives. I had decided upon the former until coyote ate 2 of my chickens after just 2 weeks of letting them out. Now I just don't know.....
Alright It's great to have you joining the BYC flock Sounds like you are learning about raising chicken's the hard way well that is one way to do it These Bob Cat's did a lot of damage before I stepped in and started to thin them out and two boxes of shells and 2 dozen Bob Cat's & 1 Fox several house dogs and some house cats later the losses have slowed to a stop but a Mountain Lion did get one of my geese last month and he was over three years old but the real story is you need to lock them up in separate coops so if something gets in it wont get all of your poultry in one shoot ........ This is the Gander a Mountain Lion got Last month ... Even these genies go quiet when a predator enters the yard Ducks are great as the flapping of their wings let's everyone know something is in the yard because they do not flap their wing and try to fly otherwise ........ When the yard looks like this and it is quiet something is wrong .. This is all the predators are after as they just sit and wait to be invited to dinner ....... gander007
Welcome to BYC Sorry to hear about your predator problems and losses. There are some articles on the most common predators (including coyotes) and tips on how to protect your flock here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-predators-pests-how-to-protect-treat-your-flock
I have to keep my girls in a secure run all day due to the coyotes and hawks. I know they would rather free range, but keeping them safe is the most important thing. I get outside with them occasionally when I have the time to watch over them. If the run is big enough, they won't mind being cooped up. Give them things to do like hanging veggies or cabbages, seed pecking blocks or a small flake of hay. Welcome to BYC!
