Official BYC Poll: The Worst Predator

[Triple Willow]

"Hog panels" that are made of 4 guage wire, 16 feet long by 32 inches tall could be used to keep most anything from digging in. It would have to be pretty small to get through it. You could set your fence down in about the middle of the panel (16 inches inside the pen and 16 inches outside the pen). That would keep predators from digging in and keep the chickens from digging big holes. Those panels will last a really long time even if you were to bury it in the ground. I really don't think you'd have to bury it. I think you could mow over one because they are so stiff. You can get the panels for a little over $20 each.

http://www.agrisupply.com/m/Product.aspx?p=14685

 

[Triple Willow]

Here's a pic of a hog panel. You would put the side with the small spacing outside the pen.

 

[Triple Willow]

My main pen is covered in hardware cloth. I really need to go over that with cattle panels. I had five dogs visit a short time ago and I know hardware cloth won't stop them. One dog might give up and move on but when a bunch get together they get that pack mentality going on and just go into a frenzy. They can destroy some stuff!

 

[pmchicken]

Raccoons are the worst in Virginia. Second are hawks and skunks. Gotta have a solid coop so nothing gets in at night. I trap them and before releasing them ten plus miles away I display them to the neighborhood to shame them in their cage trap to school them on the ramifications of messing with my awesome chickens.

 

[gander007]

It's Bob-Cats and Fox here ...

 

[KWSRetMSgt]

One of my Cayuga ducks started a nest outside the backyard, and before i discovered it she already had about 5 eggs. Well last night i went out to candle them to see how along they were. My discovery was only two eggs left and a very large Texas Rat Snake was swallowing a third one. The mishappes of laying outside the protection of the pen. Dont know why but so far the Rat Snakes seem to be my only preditors.

 

[KWSRetMSgt]

Well it looks like the Rat Snakes discovered my meat birds, luckly I didnt lose any. The covering i have for the large run and the meat bird enclosure is Bird Netting, works great. Anyway i went out to put the bird up for the night and noticed the netting was sagging slightly, upon retrieving a light I discovered a 4 ft long Rat Snake entangled in the bird netting. Rat Snakes are not poisonous but are extremely aggressive. I attempted to help him untangle but i was not going to get bit, so ... needless to say it didnt work. And im sure we all know what happened next.

 

[lawnguy]

I'm having a similar problem with something killing my chickens. Covered enclosure with no visible points of entry by killer. Door on coop but vents are open but not for long as culprit got in there last night. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Bert2368]

What part of the world is your chicken coop in, and how large are the vent holes?

My vents have metal screen about the same mesh as a window screen inside of them-

 

[ChickenPapaCT]

I'm having a similar problem with something killing my chickens. Covered enclosure with no visible points of entry by killer. Door on coop but vents are open but not for long as culprit got in there last night. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

I am a newbie, so take this with a grain of salt...

You have not given enough information, if you could answer these questions it might be helpful:
- Are all doors / windows / vents covered with fence or hardware cloth? What size are the holes in the fence (i.e. what is the biggest skull that could fit through it) ?
- There are no gaps or areas with missing wire?
- Where wire meets ground, how deep into the ground does the wire go? There's no gap at the bottom? Nothing dug a hole?
- Check where the wire connects to the posts - nothing pushed the wire away? All fasteners are secure? Is there anywhere the wire is loose enought to get a small body through?
- How are you finding the victims? Solid body with throat ripped out, or completely missing with just a few extra feathers and drops of blood on the ground?
- Do you know approximately what time the killings occurred? If you go out early in the morning and find dried blood, it probably happened early in the evening. Fresh (wet) blood would indicate a more recent (early morning) kill.

My (blind) guess would be racoon. My recommendations would be:
(a) Get a trail cam and put it facing the coop. Knowing your enemy is key to defeating it. This will help you figure out bait options and/or times to be extra vigilant.
(b) Get a "have a heart" trap. Set it with one side closed and one side open. Food at the closed end, not on the trigger, but furthest away. This makes the critter have to cross the trigget to get the food. Bait the trap as you see fit. Racoons like marshmallows - be careful, sometimes skunks do too...

Good luck!
ChickenPapa