Might be a spicy take but...

[JacinLarkwell]

Oh, also have lost chicks to Magpies and ravens too.

We have a single badger about 15 miles away, but I don't think he'll be around any time soon

 

[Brooks_]

Raccoons, coyotes, birds of prey, Bob cats, mountain lions, feral dogs and cats, snakes. Out of all the ones listed, I post something to all of those but bears and mountain lions.

Like I thought, no easy hunt for the predator. Chicken is the menu.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Like I thought, no easy hunt for the predator. Chicken is the menu.

There are plenty of deer, birds and rabbits out here, not to mention the snakes and smaller rodents.

I thought you were asking what predators we had out here

 

[Brooks_]

There are plenty of deer, birds and rabbits out here, not to mention the snakes and smaller rodents.

I thought you were asking what predators we had out here

Nah, was going with what they had to hunt. Chicken will offten be the easiest.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Nah, was going with what they had to hunt. Chicken will offten be the easiest.

Doesn't matter. It's not what is there for them to eat. I still will defend my birds when they're contained

 

[Kanekoded]

This batch of hens I have this time around are more curious than they are afraid and for that reason, I haven't allowed any free ranging this winter due to the hawks who are not even the slightest bit afraid of humans. My coop and run are in a fenced in area but that doesn't keep the nocturnal climbing animals such as raccoons and opossum (etc) away from the coop and run. What seems to be working well is keeping a light on in the run at night that my chickens can't see while on their roost in the coop. Ever since I've been keeping the run lit at night, I've noticed no tracks or digging.

 

[Brooks_]

Doesn't matter. It's not what is there for them to eat. I still will defend my birds when they're contained

To be clear, I/m fine with that. Sans a protected animal.

 

[WallyG74]

 

[raingarden]

You only have to do a good job of building or reinforcing the coop once. You will have to do a good job of killing a coon over and over again and you'll loose a bird or two on each occasion.

 

[Sussex19]

It is your job to protect your flock from predators. While it is extremely sad to loose pets to wildlife the answer is not removing the wild animal that is just acting naturally, it is to modify your behavior to prevent future issues. Don't trap and kill that raccoon (or worse dump it somewhere), reinforce your coop! If you want to free range your hens realize that a few missing occasionally is part of doing business. Too often I see trapping as the first option instead of a last resort. Please reinforce your coop, be vigilante of predator activity, and recognize that wildlife has just as much right to exist as you (or your hens) do. As the human in the equation you have to be smarter, kinder, and faster than predators.

I do agree with you, for two reasons; 1 I don't want to lose any, and if I wait till I know there is a fox (the only real predator we have here) going after my birds chances are I will have already lost some, and 2 I don't have any good way of disposing of them, if I trapped them.
Luckily I have not really had any problems yet, they are pretty wary around here.