Left for Single

[Tinamariebutterfly]

I'm needing some advice, I am down to 1 hen out of my original 3 as of last nite due to what I think r cat predators. I have a small prefab coop with a 8 foot attached run but my girls, who started out 3 summers ago, have always had free range for the majority of the day. I lost my 1st girl last year along the woodline & now last nite my 2nd girl right under our front bushes.
My question is 3 fold, what r opinions on my options #1 keep my lone girl at home & get her a friend from a neighbor #2 give her to a neighbor who has a small flock #3 is my yard at this point just plain unsafe? I know free range is always a risk but being that we have ferrel cats that live in our woods & use r property as a cut through to get to my neighbors house who feeds them do u think it's just 2 much of a high risk area?

 

[SueT]

What I have done in regard to losing occasional chickens here is, after a loss, I lock everyone up in the run for a few weeks. I set traps. And I raise a few replacements each year.
Good luck!

 

[DobieLover]

I'm needing some advice, I am down to 1 hen out of my original 3 as of last nite due to what I think r cat predators. I have a small prefab coop with a 8 foot attached run but my girls, who started out 3 summers ago, have always had free range for the majority of the day. I lost my 1st girl last year along the woodline & now last nite my 2nd girl right under our front bushes.
My question is 3 fold, what r opinions on my options #1 keep my lone girl at home & get her a friend from a neighbor #2 give her to a neighbor who has a small flock #3 is my yard at this point just plain unsafe? I know free range is always a risk but being that we have ferrel cats that live in our woods & use r property as a cut through to get to my neighbors house who feeds them do u think it's just 2 much of a high risk area?

I too have a large feral cat population on the property adjacent mine. I never had a problem with them when I did free range. I still don't now that the flock is confined behind electro-netting. Their pen is 1/3 acre. Have you considered that for ground predator protection?

 

[SueT]

We have always had feral cats around, and those individuals never bothered the chickens. In fact, they were intimidated by chickens. It may be another predator, such as a raccoon....

 

[Tinamariebutterfly]

I too have a large feral cat population on the property adjacent mine. I never had a problem with them when I did free range. I still don't now that the flock is confined behind electro-netting. Their pen is 1/3 acre. Have you considered that for ground predator protection?

Thank u

 

[Henry&Friends]

You lost a hen last year, and now one this year? You’re losing less than I am! No matter what, if you have chickens something will want to eat them. Unless your coop is Fort Knox, you’ll lose a bird every once in a while. That shouldn’t discourage you from keeping chickens though— each bird lost is another bird you can add, and adding young birds keeps egg production up when older birds molt or otherwise quit laying. Whether you get more hens or give your hen to another flock is up to you, but chickens are social animals and she’ll be lonely if you leave her alone.