INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[JanetMarie]

OMG so even with electric fence the raccoons can still get in? My husband built the chicken coop and it’s sturdy. The predator got in from the top of the run. My chicken run is 5’ tall but on the top I only had a bird net ( I didn’t know the raccoons could climb through the chicken wire

The electric doesn't go where there are two wooden gates, and a wooden privacy fence, so they occasionally get over, but seldom now, and just at night when the chickens are safe in their houses.

We had to do electric mainly where the foxes were coming in, which were most of our losses.

 

[Faraday40]

If the predator has babies, it would easily wipe out a flock. The possum, skunk and raccoon all have "teenager" babies this time of year and have been taught well. They are traveling with the mother so they make quick work of a flock.

That's what I was thinking. A couple weeks ago we heard A LOT of noise in the backyard. DH & I went out to investigate. He saw something running away around the corner (back of the garage) & I saw something up in the trees (in front of the garage). As it climbed down I thought I caught a glimpse of a raccoon ear. We knew there were at least 2, so I figured it was probably a mom & babies. We haven't heard them since & are lucky they were scared away by 2 humans with flashlights.

We have a flood light with motion sensor & a few of those solar predator eyes (blinky red LEDs). In fall when the food gets scarce, we turn on a radio. (The fox was pretty focused on our chickens last fall & winter. What was scary is that it came at random times both day & night. It also only ran about 50' away from me when caught trying to get into the coop. The only decent defense was putting our dog outside during the day whenever the chickens are out. The fox actually runs off the property if the dog is out.)

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

My husband took this pic with his drone - it is my in-laws farm.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Pollitos6

I think I'm understanding you to say that your chickens don't have a secure, locked-in place at night?

If that's the case, they aren't secure from any predator.

The usual setup is to have a secure house/shed that they are locked into at night with no place for a predator to enter. Then they can use the run with only the netting on it during the day.

If your run is the only housing they have, you'll need to put a secure top on that run rather than netting.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Thanks for the reply. I'll keep the kitten either with me, or in a closed room when that's not possible, and supervised time with our current cat.

@JanetMarie
My daughter has introduced new cats to the ones she already has. They put up a baby gate and allow them to see each other through the gate - each one has it's own area in the house during that time. Kind of like integrating new flock mates with the chickens...see/no touch...then giving them some supervised time in together a little at a time.

 

[Pollitos6]

Was the predator able to get into the coop with them locked in at night?

That’s the thing. I saw them Saturday morning and I went to a short trip and didn’t return until Sunday late at night . Therefore I didn’t lock the chicken coop door. I feel so guilty. I’m going to invest in a door timer next time .

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

That’s the thing. I saw them Saturday morning and I went to a short trip and didn’t return until Sunday late at night . Therefore I didn’t lock the chicken coop door. I feel so guilty. I’m going to invest in a door timer next time .

Oh. I see. That is why I make my ducks go to bed in their house - though they would prefer to sleep outside. I make them go in.
I have an auto door on the chicken coop, but I don't tuck the ducks in until 10:30 pm. If I could figure out how to put an auto door on the duck coop and have them trained to go in there, I would do it. They have to wait for me to let them out in the morning too.
Don't beat yourself up, things happen. I bet utilizing an electric wire and an auto door would help.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

That’s the thing. I saw them Saturday morning and I went to a short trip and didn’t return until Sunday late at night . Therefore I didn’t lock the chicken coop door. I feel so guilty. I’m going to invest in a door timer next time .

It can happen pretty fast. I have been an hour after dark getting home to put my birds up. Its a sinking feeling to see a predator run from the coop you're about to close. I had a lot of long days at the hospital before my Mom passed and got home pretty late. Don't beat yourself up. Its a horrible experience, but also a learning one too. I have some neighbors I can call to close my coop if I am running late now.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Got too busy forgot pics but I think this years garden is my best yet ! Biggest problem has been the heat, so I water every evening right now. We did get a bit of rain late afternoon. I also planted pretty late but some of my tomatoes are over 4 ft tall! Going to buy more mason jars, I plan to can my salsa this year. Hoping Mom-in-law still has her water bath canner

I harvested 3 potato plants to try them, see how they taste. I planted Purple Majesty to try them out, Pontiac Red and some russets that had eyes from the grocery lol. I have always liked Reds the best. Pretty impressed, several reds and one purple were good sized. I pulled the last onions today they were all bolting, ugh. Seeds from now on, no more sets. My seed onions (Walla) were the only ones that did anything at all.

I am sold on "trellis" gardening so far. I go out every day for a few minutes and make sure the plants are going up. Sugar peas and beans are easy, squash are a bit more training. Cucumbers do well too. I hope to have several cattle panels by next year, make it even easier. Since this is my first try, I repurposed the old hog fencing. Each row is 40 ft long. I think there's 6 rows total, last one is watermelon and pumpkin. If this works as well as I have seen so far, I will do a whole lot more of it next year. A lot of the excess crops will go to my other family members, then critters once my freezers are full.

 

[Pollitos6]

You don't check on them every day?

I do check on my chickens every day, but this one time I went to a short trip for one night only and that was when my chicken got attacked.