Loud Defensive Squawking

[sbhkma]

You do realize chicken wire is great for keeping chickens IN and it sucks for keeping critters OUT, right? Do you mean the run is chicken wire? Do they have an actual enclosed coop? I may be misunderstanding, but it sounds like your birds don't get locked up anywhere to protect them from predators..and EVERYONE likes a free chicken buffet!

 

[kaythlin]

Wonders if you have mice or rats in the coop?

Knowing your location could be of great assistance.
Easy to put in your profile, then it's always there!
Pics of coop could help too.

I i most highly doubt that

 

[TheFluffyButt]

You do realize chicken wire is great for keeping chickens IN and it sucks for keeping critters OUT, right? Do you mean the run is chicken wire? Do they have an actual enclosed coop? I may be misunderstanding, but it sounds like your birds don't get locked up anywhere to protect them from predators..and EVERYONE likes a free chicken buffet!

Where we are there are no foxes or many fowl eating predator's at all to be honest.
We only really get fruit bats and larger birds, but none that eat chickens. I guess a cat could have stirred them.

They recently started their squawking choir in the afternoon as well, but this has only occurred twice that I can remember and there were no predator's or anything of interest around other than pigeons.

There are a few very small house nice around, but the girls haven't been phased by them at all, they rarely visit the coop anyway.

The best way to explain the chickens run is to mention there's a chicken wire fenced area of about 15m x 6m and within this area is a smaller fenced off house which measures about 3m x 1.5m that contains 2 perching sticks and their external nesting box under a roof. The house is always open as my hours don't allow me to open for them in the morning and I'd much rather see them walking around freely in the enclosed area than seeing them all cooped up. Also we've never had any issues with pests or predator's other than toads I guess, but they're not really a threat.

 

[lazy gardener]

So, where are you, might I ask that you are so blessed not to have any predators?

 

[sbhkma]

No owls or weasels even? I too am curious where you and your chickens are located.

 

[aart]

Wonders if you have mice or rats in the coop?

Knowing your location could be of great assistance.
Easy to put in your profile, then it's always there!
Pics of coop could help too.

I i most highly doubt that

Not sure what this means....or why @rjohns39 likes it??

 

[lazy gardener]

Ditto, I was also puzzled by that comment.

 

[rjohns39]

Not sure what this means....or why @rjohns39 likes it??

Ditto, I was also puzzled by that comment.

Sorry folks, thought I was looking at OP. Guess I'm working too many threads at the same time. Trying to exercise the old mind as it's getting soft.

 

[lcwmt]

Thank you for all the responses!

My coop is not locked, the door is always open, it is also made of chicken wire, which means I can see in at all times.

As for seeing my chickens before they see me, I just look out the window and I can see them outside of the coop standing all together.

The reason they stop crowing when I go outside is usually because I'm yelling at them as I open the door
Or I bang on the window in the hopes that I won't have to go outside, so they know I'm coming.

I can't see any signs of an attack and there are definitely no traces of predator's that I've seen!
But by the time I get outside when the sun is up, the chickens have usually dug up their enclosed area, so any signs of a threat would have disappeared.

I'll keep an eye out and report anything.

are you in a neighborhood? Sometimes people let their dogs out *early*...

 

[aart]

Trying to exercise the old mind as it's getting soft.

I hear ya, but use your eyes and mind more than your 'like' clicker