Official BYC Poll: The Worst Predator

[LavenderDaFlerf]

Hawks, foxs and dogs and others are easily prevented but if you freerange chickens you either have to cover the entire thing or be out with them.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hawks, foxs and dogs and others are easily prevented but if you freerange chickens you either have to cover the entire thing or be out with them.

I free range my chickens and do not spend time out with them. I have two Shelties that keep an eye on them and have not suffered losses in quite a while. But I'm pretty isolated out here, so far. That may change; an in-law is preparing to move a little closer and they have dogs. We'll see how that goes ....

 

[AngelinaThePekin8]

I have only lost chickens to skunks and dogs.
We had about 7 chickens get killed by skunks over the years although that was kind of our fault as we never really closed the pallet coop door for almost the whole time we had our chickens in pallet coops (the first actual coop we built got blown down about 6 years ago) it was a very sturdy coop but a dust devil hit it just right one day... bits of it blew half way across our property.
Probably 4 years ago I think it was. A coon hound got out and killed like 5 or 6 chickens and bit my pekin duck Angel. To say the least that day was horrible the only reason Angel didn't get killed is because she fell in a window well.

About two years ago now a swift fox came and tried killing my ducks it didn't go for the chickens (they were roosting) but that is when I decided it was time to take down the pallet coop and keep all the chickens and ducks locked up at night inside a safer coop. And since then we have had zero predator deaths.

 

[Brooks_]

By all accounts, we should have had much more predation. Lost one. Fully lost....no idea what happened.

 

[The chicken nurd]

Welp I just watched a coyote fighting a raccoon in my yard a few minutes ago right by my coop (it’s after 10pm here) so where gonna go with those are probably the worst predators besides eagles in my area

 

[BDutch]

Hawks, foxs and dogs and others are easily prevented but if you freerange chickens you either have to cover the entire thing or be out with them.

You need a Fort Knox against foxes. Foxes are acrobat’s and excellent jumpers. They can dig and chew through strong nylon netting (feeling comfortable and having enough time). Most horrible is if they get inside the run. Because inside, a fox kills all you’re chickens if you are not alarmed.

If chickens free range, the fox takes one chicken and the rest of the chickens flee and hide. (But the fox probably will return the next day of course).

My experience: Last year I was lucky I woke up from a strange chicken flock noise early mornings after the auto pop door to the net covered run opened. The fox got in the run jumping up the coop and biting through a nylon cord and strong netting for birds of prey. One chicken down. The other adult chickens were still in the coop. And 2 chicks in the run were scared but not harmed.

So far , I probably never lost one free ranging to a fox. But had one chicken missing because of a buzzard. I spotted one a couple of days after the incident, circling above our house. After this, the chickens didn’t free range for a few weeks.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

I’ve only lost a single duck to a predator, and that was a bobcat. However, I currently have a bear that won’t move on, the aforementioned bobcat, and a weasel that I saw last month (but not since) that is probably lurking and planning mass murder since I haven’t been able to catch it. There are tons of raccoons around, of course, but they’d have to get in line behind the others. I feel like the Grim Reaper is hovering around my ducks (one of which already tries to die on a regular basis from reproductive issues).

 

[Folly's place]

We lost ten nice laying hens in a short time one afternoon to a fox, who took one away, hid a few, and left the rest where he killed them. He only killed actively laying hens, very discriminating! And was seen by workmen next door, who did nothing!
He returned next day, we couldn't get a good shot at him. A neighbor got him a few days later.
This fox was nearly bald because of mange, poor guy, and hunted during the warmer afternoon rather at night.
Mary

 

[LavenderDaFlerf]

Though dogs are really bad too, I had hatched 38 chicks and a dog got in the first day we let them out with the adults and killed all but four.

 

[Manhen]

Hawks, foxs and dogs and others are easily prevented but if you freerange chickens you either have to cover the entire thing or be out with them.

It really depends upon you neighbors. For example I live in an rural area that is not wealthy but is packed with avid hunters. Coyotes are usually taken care of readily, and our neighbors have several akias. My dog is a varmint finding 70 lb mutt, and we have two mini-donkeys that live in the barn that houses the chickens. One of my neighbor's akias that is not afraid of killer donkeys is the only predator I have seen or had a problem with other than hawks. I have 200 chickens that live in about an 2.0 acres of pens that have 6 foot high fences. One is 2/3 of an acre with an open center. This is the only place hawks attack. Tree cover is spotty. The donkeys even discourage hawks I think, hard to tell.