NOT OFFICIALLY SPRING YET, BUT IT IS IN PREDATORVILLE!

[llandry]

Miquwid- love your avatar! I'm a huge pitty fan.

 

[farmer boy]

shellz i also live in canada but my coop is not predator proof there is a whole in the wall in a corner that my cats go through but nothing came in it yet and we have coons that come in my yard and fight a lot with each other .. we have coyotes that always come around i free range all year round and hatch all year round i have been raising birds for a year and nothing died from predators

 

[Shellz]

Wow! Amazing! How is it possible? It seems once you get your birds, the preds smell them from miles away! The chickens are like pred magnets, lol!

 

[Shellz]

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! 

Good for you, Diana! I admire another woman who can take care of business! High 5!

 

[farmer boy]

oh and i am only 15 and i raise everything by my self bought most of the birds my self and raised most of them from a young age the only real predator i have a problem with is my big old dog he looks at my silkies and licks his lips .. hes prob thinking why can;t i eat them we eat chicken inside lol

 

[Shellz]

Yeah, lol! I have 2 dogs that I trust with my birds free ranging. One is small, so she got charged by the rooster a few times & that cured her! Other one has a nice, healthy respect for them. He actually steers around them. Gives them their space. He's a 32 lb mutt. He also patrols the property & chases off foxes & small coyotes. Best dog ever!

 

[sargent spurs]

Nice, I have a dog like that.

 

[Shellz]

Nice, I have a dog like that.

What kind? How big? If ya don't mind me asking.

 

[sargent spurs]

Lab mix 40#, good dog.

 

[farmer boy]

my dog is a husky mix he is around maybe 60 or a little more then i have a pitbull he is around 40-50 pounds and a australian shepherd / border collie