Official BYC Poll: The Worst Predator

[Snozzle]

Unfortunately, my biggest losses were to the misguided miscreant youths on the corner who have sicked thier dogs on my chickens on my property when i was at work, or shooting them with bb guns, slingshots and even though we have video that is pretty good the sherrif says that it isnt clear enough to charge them. Last may I had 56 chickens and now I have 20...all of my favorites are gone. All my bantams are gone.....I used to love it when I drove up and the girls would jump out of the run and meet me at my car door begging for treats. Now I hardly have any interaction with the chickens other than feeding, watering and cleaning. my heart is broken and no matter what I do I cannot stop these jerks from hurting my animals or get the sherrif to react or animal control. I pray that these jerks will move away soon. It is rumored that they will have to soon leave their home due to mold and the home being condemed. I hope that they will relocate far away and leave us in peace. They harass my sweet next door neighbors flock too. She is goodness personified and it is so hard to see her saddened by similar actions, I also understand that these same misfits harass the neighbors whose homes face the other street but the back of their property is on our street. Never have I lived anywhere where mulitiple neighbors are calling the sherrif and animal control often where NOTHING changes. Seems the perps have all the rights and the victims have to sit and be patient. I figure it won't be long till they really mess up and end up in jail but i am hesitant even to want to get another chicken. I was thinking about starting a better flock but I really don't want to invest money until I can protect them from people. Seems I cannot build a 9 foot privacy wall with laser guns and forcefields........till then counting on kharma to do her thing.


caroline

I would get a large animal trap and catch their dogs and take them to another county animal control so there is no chance on them getting them back or get a larger guard dog that won't kill your chickens to run them off. My Teddy in her younger years used to protect any small creature with her life, she never bit anyone or anything, but she would run as hard as she could and headbud other dogs in the ribs knocking the wind out of them. Then she would run back to her 'litter' and try to nurse whatever she was guarding(ducks, kittens, baby moles she had found somewhere). I know she is a weirdo, but sounds like you need a overly motherly protector dog like that. Great pyrenees are known for that and they are large dogs.
If nothing else bad neighbors always get what they deserve, karma works!

 

[thesunthemoon89]

We don't have our chicks yet but I am foreseeing a huge problem with raccoons. I live in the burbs and they get massive here [lots of food hanging out in trash bins because of wasteful people]. We have a chicken wire compost and they've pried the bottom out of the ground to get at our kitchen scraps. I'm designing our extra reinforced coop and run with them in mind. Also looking out for Hawks since we have a boatload of them flying around yearround. In the summer they'll come sit on our fenceposts and go after the birds and frogs that gather around our pond =( I honestly don't know if we'll let our chicks free range because of this.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Dog's and coons are not merciful, remember that

 

[jbourget]

Opa my worst predator is a Fisher Cat whiped out 67 of my birds in just a few short moments. i woke up to feed them while in school a few years back and the walls were just covered in blood all my birds necks ripped open

 

[OwlLover]

Being an ironic raptor lover I can't really say that eagles, hawks, owls, etc are the "worst," more like efficent. They kill their in 1 or 2 blows, taking it away, and eating it (or eating it then flying away.) They can see from a mile above as well with their beautiful eyes. They are the perfect predators with amazing eyesight, flight, and efficency when hunting.
But if I had to say worst I'd choose between coons, weasels, and dogs. Coons can pry weak wire and open latches, weasels can slink through if you don't use hardware cloth, and dogs. Dogs are the worst IMO. They play with their prey before they die.

 

[Ashburnham]

Foxes
ferrets
Dogs
hawks

in that order.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Opa my worst predator is a Fisher Cat whiped out 67 of my birds in just a few short moments. i woke up to feed them while in school a few years back and the walls were just covered in blood all my birds necks ripped open

Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry about that!

A coon reached through my rabbits hutch metal bars and grabbed her leg and broke her back, and in the morning I went and saw blood on her hutch wall, alarmed I opened the door and there she was with her eye almost scratched out and barely could walk...

So i guess Fisher Cat's are up with Dogs and coons...

 

[BirdMan32]

We don't have our chicks yet but I am foreseeing a huge problem with raccoons. I live in the burbs and they get massive here [lots of food hanging out in trash bins because of wasteful people]. We have a chicken wire compost and they've pried the bottom out of the ground to get at our kitchen scraps. I'm designing our extra reinforced coop and run with them in mind. Also looking out for Hawks since we have a boatload of them flying around yearround. In the summer they'll come sit on our fenceposts and go after the birds and frogs that gather around our pond =( I honestly don't know if we'll let our chicks free range because of this.

Letting them free range in that kind of setting is pretty much ringing the dinner bell. Don't do it.

 

[confusedbanti]

We don't have our chicks yet but I am foreseeing a huge problem with raccoons. I live in the burbs and they get massive here [lots of food hanging out in trash bins because of wasteful people]. We have a chicken wire compost and they've pried the bottom out of the ground to get at our kitchen scraps. I'm designing our extra reinforced coop and run with them in mind. Also looking out for Hawks since we have a boatload of them flying around yearround. In the summer they'll come sit on our fenceposts and go after the birds and frogs that gather around our pond =( I honestly don't know if we'll let our chicks free range because of this.

That sounds like a real bad Idea. Don't do it

 

[confusedbanti]

We don't have our chicks yet but I am foreseeing a huge problem with raccoons. I live in the burbs and they get massive here [lots of food hanging out in trash bins because of wasteful people]. We have a chicken wire compost and they've pried the bottom out of the ground to get at our kitchen scraps. I'm designing our extra reinforced coop and run with them in mind. Also looking out for Hawks since we have a boatload of them flying around yearround. In the summer they'll come sit on our fenceposts and go after the birds and frogs that gather around our pond =( I honestly don't know if we'll let our chicks free range because of this.

That sounds like a real bad Idea. Don't do it