It may sound dumb but will squirrels try to kill baby chicks?

[Dustieburk]

It was gone within a couple of days because we have dogs that love catching squirrels If anyone else has that problem get a dog. Haha

 

[Blooie]

Um, but not a Molly dog. She lays in the shade of the deck and grins at them.

 

[MysteriaSdrassa]

You and me both! Da*n $#%! tree rats. They are NOT cute and fluffy vegetarians, they are destructive pests. They have not harmed my chickens but they have destroyed countless bird feeders, trash cans, and did $2500 worth of damage to my parent's kitchen when one got stuck on a windowsill high above a driveway. I have witnessed them raiding bird nests and eating the nestlings also. Tree rats, along with rabbits and groundhogs, are at the top of my most hated list.

Tree Rats,, I love it

We don't have many of those around thankfully,, our biggest and most hated mortal enemy here are coons

... coons are hated with a passion and are taken care of with extreme prejudice when spotted
but back to squirells,,, i do love my songbirds and feeding wild birds (and no i am not one bit scared of bird flu) so i do keep my feeders clear of the haha,, tree rats

and other nuicence birds. Grackles, Starlings and Cowbirds are all met with dire circumstances. Those pests will empty a feeder in a few hours, grackles and starlings will pull baby songbirds out of nests and take over the nest,, and those lazy bleepin parasite cowbirds lay their eggs in songbird nests and leave the other birds to take care of it when it hatches.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Squirrels that raid bird feeders remind me of the T-Rex in the flick Jurassic Park. The only humans who can love a tree gopher are the humans with little real world experience dealing with squirrels.

 

[KathieMc]

Um, but not a Molly dog. She lays in the shade of the deck and grins at them.

Same thing happens with our German Shepherd, Mojo...he just lays there in the sunshine taking everything in and enjoying his cushy life style. Now let the UPS truck come down our road/driveway and our once sleepy, peaceful dog turns into "Super Mo", protector of the universe! I might add that he is also eight years old and believes that he is in semi retirement and his chasing days are behind him.

 

[yochickiemomma]

If you can't shoot squirrels for any reason the plastic rat traps work great we use of them all the time to catch red squirrels and chipmunks. Just rubber band a shell on peanut to the trip lever. It works every time. My dogs are getting to old to catch em but they sure try.

 

[ofeycat123]

Same thing happens with our German Shepherd, Mojo...he just lays there in the sunshine taking everything in and enjoying his cushy life style. Now let the UPS truck come down our road/driveway and our once sleepy, peaceful dog turns into "Super Mo", protector of the universe! I might add that he is also eight years old and believes that he is in semi retirement and his chasing days are behind him.

WELCOME TO THE BYC FAMILY

 

[ofeycat123]

If you can't shoot squirrels for any reason the plastic rat traps work great we use of them all the time to catch red squirrels and chipmunks. Just rubber band a shell on peanut to the trip lever. It works every time. My dogs are getting to old to catch em but they sure try.

WELCOME TO THE BYC FAMILY

 

[KathieMc]

Thanks for the welcome ofeycat123...glad to be here.

 

[JajaEgg]

Thanks for the advice regarding heating a chicken coop, sounds like not heating is better way to go. I would have replied sooner but been busy with the chicks, dogs, cats, granddaughter etc.

With regard to squirrels, we have tons here but so far they have only gotten into the run and stolen chicken food, Ill have to watch out for them. I wouldn't put it past them either. And we even had 1 make a nest in our attic by chewing through wood facia near the roof of our house. I kind of am sick of them even though they are funny to watch.