I will try to be straight to the point, but DH says it cannot be done by me! I have a 12 X 8 chicken coop. three windows that are cover by screens and then have hardware cloth covering all the windows. We have hardware cloth all along the bottom of the coop, buried into the ground. My runs are 1x2 farm fence 8' tall. It is buried in the ground aprox 6". We have that lined with hardware cloth 2' from the ground up. We did have the runs covered by deer netting, but the winter took it out. We live out in a rural, tree filled area. We have a pair of beautiful barred owls, we have buzzards, and we have all sorts of hawks. We also have a pair of birds of prey that I do not know what they are, but their backs are a gray color and they are "huge"!! I have only seen them three times, always from their backs... I have seen immature hawks try to get my chickens, fly down so fast they were only a blur, but once in the pen, realized there were 20 birds twice his size & flew away. Last winter, I lost 4 birds.... My husband and I got home saw a dark shape in the run, ran screaming & the animal jumped off the run floor & jumped to the top of the 8' fence & escaped. Well last night, my DH was doing me a favor & forgot to shut the poop door. We get up at 5 am to get ready for work. DH told me he heard a chicken outside our bedroom window. Our coop is 150' from our window. I went out my front door & heard a commotion from my run. My rooster Sheldon, about a 9# Brown Star, was valiently fighting something. I got so ticked off, that I ran (in my pjs, no glasses on) screaming "I am going to kill your $#%&*^% ^%$! Pretty much at the top of my lungs. I grabbed a big shovel ran into the run. A hen was squawking, running for her life, when I got in the pen, a large shape went over the fence. Sheldon came running over to me. First I am proud of Sheldon, I have wanted to get rid of him, but he is so good to the hens, very protective. I went into my coop, there were brokens eggs all over the floor. I know the varmit ate them, if an egg breaks in the coop, the chickens do not leave one piece of it any where, they eat it all. I am glad no one was hurt, proud of Sheldon, BUT I know (and now DH too) it is time to get an electric fence thing for my runs. DH says it needs to be placed where the varmit will touch. Just where would that be? The top part of the fence? Nothing is trying to dig, just jump. And what in the heck is it? I had a pet raccoon when I was a teenager, and I never saw that thing move fast. Last year I thought it was a feral cat, but this thing is too big to be a cat. I know everything looks bigger in the dark, and I did not have my glasses on..... We have five dogs, three red bone hounds, a Jack Russell terrier, he is my chicken protector but he was in the house....the dogs are out most of the time. I have never seen a coon in our yard, possums don't move as fast as this thing went.... too small for a weasel...?? We have never seen any coyotes or heard them. I know they are probably out there, but our dog pack would run them off. What are your thoughts please and thank you!!
theresa
theresa
