Official BYC Poll: The Worst Predator

[PopoMyers]

I put hawk, as that's the only predator I've been unable to really protect against. I've lost chickens to an owl, a fox, and a cat (not certain about the cat, but I saw one lurking near the run earlier that day, and pullet in question had been attacked but not eaten, so clearly it was a well-fed pet!). But those all happened when the chickens were free-ranging, so I've learned to be more careful about when I let them out, especially during peak predator season.

But a single hawk took out 2 young birds in a single attack (a teenage chick and a gosling), while they were in the electric fence, in the middle of the day. Might have taken more if I hadn't come out and interrupted it. My run is way too big to cover, so all I can do is provide shelter, keep roosters and guard geese, and try to deter them.

Surprised to see dogs so high on the list, though. Don't people keep their dogs fenced in? I realize they occasionally get out but I wouldn't think that would be enough to account for so many people compaining about them. Makes me nervous cuz our neighbors have dogs, as close as next door. Sure hope the electric fence keeps them out if they ever escape...

My own dog would have chicken snacks, I'd she could see them. I still have to scold her for trying.

 

[VonSFarms]

We've lost all of our chickens to hawks and always in the winter months here in the panhandle of Florida. Because of this we keep them locked up in the run from fall to spring.

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

******Slight graphic description warning*****
When we had our third and fourth chicks, we left them outside in a well sizable rabbit cage. We left 'em out in the night and let them hang around with us in the day. Until one fateful spring day, my sister woke up and prepared herself to go to school. I was still getting ready when she went outside and came back inside telling me to go outside with her. When we went outside, you wouldn't believe my surprise when I saw the bars of the rabbit cage had feathers stuck on them, and only one chick was in there. Now, the bars of the cage weren't big at all, maybe 3/4 of an inch, so you can understand why I was so surprised. Me and my sister began to look around the backyard for signs of what could of happened, when my sister found the body. His head was ripped off the poor chicks body. The body was ripped to shreds with feathers tossed on the floor. We later set up a (humane) trap to catch whatever killed our baby, and guess what we caught? A stinkin' opossum. It was young, but with no doubt it could've killed our chick. After that we moved the other chick into our garage and she turned out to be the loveliest hen you could imagine, too bad her brother, Winter, didn't survive . Her name was Autumn and she would follow us around, and whenever we sat down, she would flap up to us and make us hold her. Sadly, last year she passed away. She will always live in my memory, though.

 

[Birdsonghill]

I have lost birds mostly to Hawks and owls ,in the past. I have lost a few to raccoons, fox and minks, many years ago, before I made more predator resistant coops and runs and I did free range. The worst predation I witnessed, was from minks. They were getting into the chicken barns at the county penal farm at night and killing 30 to nearly a hundred birds per night! I trapped them with leg hold traps at a couple small holes they made to get inside a couple of the barns, similar a rat hole. Two minks, killed a couple hundred chickens over a period of about two to three weeks. They would kill several dozen usually, at least, and only eat from two or three birds. That does not count some birds injured and put down, caused by them piling up while being attacked, apparently.

 

[arwoon]

Hawks, dog, and racoon that's all, mostly racoon and dog. And out of racoon and dog, racoon

 

[McChooky]

I chose Mink..I lost several to a mink (or weasel) last winter..

Its almost impossible to close off every opening so good that a mink or a weasel can't go over ,under or thru it.

 

[McChooky]

I had to keep my baby chicks in my bedroom for 2 weeks just to be safe while I finished putting 1/2" hardware cloth on their coop.I'm now making them a run out of 2 x 4's, cinder blocks and 1/2" hardware cloth.I loathe weasels.

 

[swimmy44]

I was curious as to which predator the most chickens have been lost to.


(Check out more Official BYC Polls HERE!)

Weasels MURDER whole flocks at a time. And sneak in through the tiniest holes.

 

[Manhen]

Weasels MURDER whole flocks at a time. And sneak in through the tiniest holes.

My reading says a hole the size of a quarter. Thereby....hardware cloth. I am not sure, but I have heard (with my ears) that they don't climb much. Eliminated cracks and spaces they will crawl in might be a good idea. I run 1/2" hardware cloth 3.5 feet up around all my coop areas that have roosts.

 

[The chicken nurd]

Little late to the thread
But the only birds I’ve lost to predators was when someone broke into my coop and stole them
knock on wood I didn’t jinx it
But I would also put raccoons and dogs up there cause I know a lot of people who have lost birds to those