Official BYC Poll: The Worst Predator

[0die]

I haven't lost one yet...but possums are all over my neighborhood...I have trapped a few already and dumped them out in the sticks...caught a couple feral cats too that I relocated...

But the possums looks mostly to be searching easy food/garbage/pet bowls...a trap with tasty cat food works great and easier than getting thru the chicken wire...

never seen any coon signs/road kill in the neighborhood areas in 10+ years...but don't mean they ain't there...

 

[cabinchicky]

We did not lock up our chicks last year and one was pulled through the 1"x2"spaced welded wire fence by a coon. we caught her trying to find a easy meal the next night.I do not trust chicken wire as far as I can throw a roll of it. If I can damage it, what can a 30 lbs male coon do? Yes it's more expensive but worth it. Even have a two ft. digging strip to keep coon, Fox, coyote, dog and whatever else from digging in.

 

[Ironsights]

We did not lock up our chicks last year and one was pulled through the 1"x2"spaced welded wire fence by a coon. we caught her trying to find a easy meal the next night.I do not trust chicken wire as far as I can throw a roll of it. If I can damage it, what can a 30 lbs male coon do? Yes it's more expensive but worth it. Even have a two ft. digging strip to keep coon, Fox, coyote, dog and whatever else from digging in.

I'm a fan of electric fence, the hotter the better. And it's cheap!

 

[cabinchicky]

Hot fence is good too, have the portable kind to let them range in. We thought of putting a hot wire fence around the run but decided not to with how we did it. Since we coop them all up at night the only thing to get in the run are mice so far.Run we have is 1x2 inch spaced welded wire 12'x16' top sides and the dig barrier is two ft out from the bottom with field stones over it. Figure stone will pull fence down into any hole a critter tries to dig under it. stones are 1 ft apart and over 15 lbs each. Lots of stone here.

 

[1ChickenKeeper]

I chose raccoon, as 4 years ago I lost my whole entire first flock to raccoons. Horrible time. Took me a long time to recover from the attack. Now being super cautious about my hens ;] *nervous smile.*

I'm going to admit. I'm very paranoid right now.

 

[chickbird]

Has anyone on here tried those nightguard lights with the blinking red lights? Do they work?

 

[gander007]

I chose raccoon, as 4 years ago I lost my whole entire first flock to raccoons. Horrible time. Took me a long time to recover from the attack. Now being super cautious about my hens ;] *nervous smile.*

I'm going to admit. I'm very paranoid right now.

Raccoons are bad I agree with you on that even though it has been years for me to have such problems with them but I so remember the problem they cause along with the destruction left behind in there wake where a Bob Cat will kill just one a night and keep returning night after night till the flock is gone the Raccoon will kill for the pure pleasure of it so good luck on your security measures ......

 

[1ChickenKeeper]

Raccoons are bad I agree with you on that even though it has been years for me to have such problems with them but I so remember the problem they cause along with the destruction left behind in there wake where a Bob Cat will kill just one a night and keep returning night after night till the flock is gone the Raccoon will kill for the pure pleasure of it so good luck on your security measures ......   

Thank you, I got some new chicks, and after they became hens, one was snagged by a raccoon...
They haven't been back since. They may be not seen, but they're still there.

I lock up the hens and the henhouse his this little door you can close, so no hen can get out. I close the coop door and lock it, then I have this electronic chicken door that closes that the chickens enter in and out of, and I put something in front of it.. Doesn't really matter, as I trust the door, I've never lost hens to the door. But I have to the run..

 

[cabinchicky]

On the raccoon issue:My friend lost 80% of her flick this past winter/spring due to a large male going into her barn though the cats hOle in her barn door. She had read that if a human places human urine at the place the coon enters they will stop going in. I didn't believe it would work. She or her hubby tinkle every other day where the barn door hole is plus around her coop aND run done in chicken wire and no coon have gotten close since! She had even hung her game camera to show it worked!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

... She had read that if a human places human urine at the place the coon enters they will stop going in. ...

Definitely doesn't work. My game cam shows the opposite.

If you are out in the wilderness where there are few raccoons and even fewer humans, it may work.
In the suburbs where there are 100 X as many raccoons and even more humans, they don't care what the scent is, they're hungry.