Newbie in Ohio

[Worstellfunnyfarm]

Hi ! Welcome to the inside look at my funny farm! We have 7 chickens, 3 ducks, 3 cats, 2 ducks, a goat, two teenagers and a toddler (whew!). We just suffered our first losses at 4 this morning. A raccoon got into my run and got one of my Pekins and one of my chicks. We live right up against a nature preserve on two sides of our property, and we were trying our darndest to fortify our run to protect our babies, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. (The temp fencing in the pics was just when we took them outside with us to have some sun before they could be outside permanently). I’ve tried looking at some ideas that other poultry parents have posted but I’m having trouble seeing some pictures? They say that I need to upgrade my photobucket account (I don’t have one) and I also have “insufficient privileges” to comment? Thanks to anyone who answers in advance!

 

[Valhalla Acres]

Welcome to BYC! We have netting over the top of our chicken coop and bricks lining the bottom to stop any digging. One of the breeders near us uses an electric wire around the top and bottom of the coop/ runs.

 

[4 ever Orpington]

View attachment 1437328 View attachment 1437316 View attachment 1437317 View attachment 1437320 View attachment 1437321 View attachment 1437322 View attachment 1437323 View attachment 1437318 View attachment 1437319 Hi ! Welcome to the inside look at my funny farm! We have 7 chickens, 3 ducks, 3 cats, 2 ducks, a goat, two teenagers and a toddler (whew!). We just suffered our first losses at 4 this morning. A raccoon got into my run and got one of my Pekins and one of my chicks. We live right up against a nature preserve on two sides of our property, and we were trying our darndest to fortify our run to protect our babies, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. (The temp fencing in the pics was just when we took them outside with us to have some sun before they could be outside permanently). I’ve tried looking at some ideas that other poultry parents have posted but I’m having trouble seeing some pictures? They say that I need to upgrade my photobucket account (I don’t have one) and I also have “insufficient privileges” to comment? Thanks to anyone who answers in advance!

 

[drumstick diva]

Lots of folks are going with the electrifed fencing. Once the pred comes in contact with it they do not try again.

 

[BlueBaby]

Hello, and welcome to BYC!

 

[Pork Pie]

Hello and welcome to BYC. The best advice can found on this forum - https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance.9/
And here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1147166/topic-of-the-week-keeping-the-flock-safe-from-predators

You can use this link to contact members in your area - Find Your State Thread

Best wishes

Pork Pie

 

[N F C]

Sorry for your loss, raccoons can cause a lot of damage. This is a link to an article in the Learning Center and may give you more ideas on how to deal with them:
raccoon-chicken-predators-how-to-protect-your-chickens-from-coons.47709

Good luck to you!

 

[Lazy Farmer]

 

[Joeschooks]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

I'm so sorry to hear of your losses. I can highly recommend electric fencing. Feel free to check out the link to "My Coop" (under my profile picture if you're on a PC). Hopefully it'll give you some ideas but you would need to adapt to make it safe from the predators in your particular area

 

[mrs_organized_chaos]

Welcome to BYC. I am new to chickens as well and I am also in Ohio. We haven’t put our chicks out into the coop next. Hoping next week but I am terrified of the coop/ run not being predator proof. I am driving my husband crazy and making the area like Fort Knox