I have a motion light pointed on my coop. All week long it has been going on and off all night. The first night I noticed it, it was only my ferrell kitty lurking around. Then a little while later a raccoon was back there. I don't free range my girls and they are locked down tight at night from having bad experience in the past. So I got the live trap out, Caught the coon shot him and didn't clean up the blood, mistake on my part! But with the big slushy snow storm we just had I thought it would wash away. That night the light goes off again, I looked out and there was an even bigger coon around were I had left the blood from the last coon. And it hit me it smelled the blood. The next morning I go out and in the tree above my coop is a coopers hawk. It flew off. I let my girls out into their fully enclosed run. The coopers hawk came back that afternoon. I reset the live trap and last night the light went off I looked out and there was a big opossum there. This morning there is an opossum in the trap but it is not as big as the one I seen in the yard. Now I have to take care of this possum and reset the trap. for tonight. I am so glad I took extra precautions in predator proofing. One of the things I noticed is something tried to dig into the run. But once it hit the hardware cloth buried six inches down it gave up, and tried to push it's way through the cloth. No success! I am convinced if I had not taken such precautions I would not have a flock anymore. I am writing this to those that are thinking about starting to raise chickens. First and fore most you can not over predator proof your flock! And to all you newbies who started last year, Spring has sprung in the predator world beware! They are all out there mating and that means they are building an appetite! Don't let your flock be their next meal!
