How is the best way to keep predators away from chickens

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I have a flock of 200 chickens"i sell fresh farm eggs" lately when going out to the chicken pen in the mornings i've seen allot of chicken feathers laying around the pen inside. I thought something was getting them set out trap etc but got nothing. My second thought was to buy a nite guard and put that out there does anyone know if those work or not? does anyone know what I should do to fix the pen i don't have holes or anything in the pen where something can get in thank you

 

[BellaBokBok]

Well the chickens could be attacking each other, i.e, picking at one anothers feathers..
I don't have a predator problem but I've heard of people that do putting a kind of 'skirt' allllll around their coop&run of hardware cloth,so nothing can dig under it,but with 200 chickens I don't know if that's going to help..

 

[centrarchid]

Your birds could also be going into annual molt and feathers tend to collect around perimeter fencing. You may need to find a way to keep accurate inventory of flock size. Loss verification needed.

 

[bigoledude]

Obviously the best way to keep predators from killing your stock is to build their enclosures so that they are predator proof. I have had chickens die from raccoons and opossums pulling their heads through the fencing and eating their heads off.

I've had birds die from going into a frenzy from having a neighbor's dog pacing back and forth along the fence of my runs.

I keep the predator numbers down by shooting them, trapping them and repelling them. If you allow the numbers of killers to proliferate on your property, you will eventually begin to lose some birds. One way or another.

A visit to my neighbor was all it took for him to keep his dog on his property. No fuss, no muss. I bring him fresh eggs on a regular basis. We remain friends.