Ideas on keeping predators out?

[countrydream7]

too me that is going too far as sleeping with ur chicks in bed..what about the mess of poop all over and the smell sorry nasty to me love my chicks but a time and place for everything ..

 

[ChicknCommander]

2nd that

 

[mtgrl]

Quote: Been there, done that. We've shot plenty of bears in the yard and new ones keep coming back. There's an unlimited supply out there!
Quote: My cat won't eat prey. Anyway, if it wasn't the cat food, it'd be the apples or water or something else attracting something. Our yard just seems to be the gateway from the mountains to the plains for all sorts of animals...
Quote: See, that's what I'm afraid of. I'm so clumsy I'm sure I'd fall right into it! Me and electricity do not get along...
Quote: I was thinking of just putting wire on the ground and attaching it to the wire around the fence so it's like a giant cage, that should keep gophers out.
Quote: Mine too! Especially the chicks. My newest chick wouldn't sleep for the first 3 days unless she was sleeping in my hand. My quail have also been living in my room for the last 2 months, because I'm concerned about predators and the weather both. Not ready to put them out until I'm positive they're 100% safe!

I'm starting to think I ought to just camp outside in the summer inside the pen and shoot anything that tries to get in! That would be the funnest option, anyway.

 

[BugGuy]

I don't have bears or wolves, but have all the rest. I bought a cattle stock trailer and put 3/4 inch plywood on the inside of the steel grates and covered the seams with welded wire. I built it to withstand any predators attacks. When I close the doors, the girls are inside a steel box with a 3 inch wood floor. The biggest predator would wear their claws off without making much of a dent in the place and the smallest predator (weasel) would have a tough time finding an unsecured section to dig through. I have found canine marks on the doors and chew holes in the wood, but the welded wire stops them cold. The girls are safe and sound from whatever tries to get in. I doubt it would keep a bear out, but good luck anyway.

 

[mtgrl]

Sounds like a good set up. Yeah, that's the thing. There's not much that can keep a bear out, if anything... we always get at least one bear a year that wreaks havoc on the yard and knocks over the garbage cans and eats all the apples. We usually just shoot them and make ham, but there's always new ones that come around. I really doubt there's any way to keep them away or keep them out of anything. It seems easier to me to just sleep out there and kill the predators as they come.

 

[tydy]

Been there, done that. We've shot plenty of bears in the yard and new ones keep coming back. There's an unlimited supply out there!
My cat won't eat prey. Anyway, if it wasn't the cat food, it'd be the apples or water or something else attracting something. Our yard just seems to be the gateway from the mountains to the plains for all sorts of animals...
See, that's what I'm afraid of. I'm so clumsy I'm sure I'd fall right into it! Me and electricity do not get along...
I was thinking of just putting wire on the ground and attaching it to the wire around the fence so it's like a giant cage, that should keep gophers out.
Mine too! Especially the chicks. My newest chick wouldn't sleep for the first 3 days unless she was sleeping in my hand. My quail have also been living in my room for the last 2 months, because I'm concerned about predators and the weather both. Not ready to put them out until I'm positive they're 100% safe!

I'm starting to think I ought to just camp outside in the summer inside the pen and shoot anything that tries to get in! That would be the funnest option, anyway.

You just said what I have been thinking since I started reading this thread. But I say forget the 22, that will just piss off the bears. I would opt for the 12 ga. with 00. As for your initial perimeter alarm, try the remote driveway alarms. Depending on where you are, I think tractor supply or Axmen's would sell them. Then you wouldn't have to actually sleep in the coop!

 

[tydy]

http://www.homesecuritystore.com/p-...-20u-optex-wireless-alert-driveway-alarm.aspx

 

[chickengeorgeto]

.... I'm so clumsy I'm sure I'd fall right into it! Me and electricity do not get along...

On hot dry Summer evenings when the day's work was done, I used to grab hold of my electric fence and just stand there watching the little blue tongues of flame shoot out of my shoes and run to ground.

It was very good therapy for sore muscles. I highly recommend it.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

You are looking at protecting your chickens from predators from the wrong end. The idea is not to protect your chickens from all predator attacks but to force the predators to go to your neighbors coop for a much easier al dente chicken dinner.

 

[mtgrl]

Quote: Nice! Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check it out.
Quote: My dad has been trying to convince me to buy this electric thing at walmart for sore muscles that shocks you. He says it works really well.
Quote: Lol. That would work great if any of my neighbours had chickens, but all they have is horses and cows and hunting dogs. I'm sure chickens are much easier to take down!