Official BYC Poll: The Worst Predator

[Egg Crate]

I'm pretty sure these two are guilty as heck for some if not all of our losses, but I have not seen them for a month or so. Air rifle is at the ready!

 

[caspernc]

I just got out of Koi fish due to........wait for it........FLOODING! I had herron and raccons. Dogs and cats. Only lost one fish before I got wise. Solar eletric fencing! Solar you say, can't be so bad... I tried to get the kids to test it and they wouldn't. ( I did raise some smart youngun's) I wound up testing it by accedent and YES IT IS BAD! OOOUUUCCCHHH! Solar fence can go several acres. It won't get the hawks but it will get snakes if you put low eough and keep it clear daily. Its my walk. Racoons, opossums, fox, cats, dogs...etc. get the idea very quickly. Just don't forget to turn it off for you! I'm thinking chickens won't be anymore trouble that fishes, just as satisfying (did love my fishes) and I'll get eggs.

 

[Twiztedrods]

My chicks will be here on Friday. I have built their coop and run, it is fully enclosed including the top, but I am worried about something digging under it. Dogs are not really a problem since one that strayed in the yard was shot dead the others give my place a wide berth. Do coons, oppossums, or skunks dig under fencing to get into a run? We do have a rather large pack of coyotes that live around our place but I have only seen one come within 150 feet of our house. Our dog and my 20 gauge shotgun seems to keep them at bay.

The birds will be kept in their solid predator proof coop at night, but during the day I am wondering about the safety of their run. My yard is sand and very easy to dig. I wonder if I should put in a concrete footer around the run fence to discourage critters from digging in.

 

[Opa]

Probably the best method would be what I have done. Install a hot wire 6" off the ground around the perimeter of your run.

 

[eggboy]

I never lost any chickens to predators but weasels and Raccoons are my most feared. I have heard weasels can get through 1 in. chicken wire.

 

[Cary Ann]

We have lost one Muscovy duckling and a young Rooster to mink, but we have caught about 16 racoons in two years. Mice and rats just eat all the feed and nest everywhere they can. We live right next to a creek unfortantly.

 

[BlackBrookPoultry]

I think raccoons and dogs are getting such high votes because they are prevelent in most areas so people have more problems with them. I live on a river and have almost every predator you can think of around my house. I've had fox and raccoons kill my ducks and chickens. They usually take one and then come back for more later. Twice (at 2 different houses) I have had a mink kill large numbers of my animals. Once it was about 35 chickens and recently 12 call ducks and 4 lavender orpingtons. I think Mink and weasels are the worst. They are very hard to trap, can squeeze into small spaces and will go on a killing spree if they get into your poultry.

 

[NYREDS]

If you had ever been visited by a Mink or a Weasel you'd understand why they're the worst. Most predators will take one bird & either take it with them or eat in on site. A Mink or a Weasel will kill everything they can get to. They drink some blood but don't actually eat much of anything. A few years back I had a Mink get into my barn. He killed over 70 birds in a single visit. Every pen he could get into he killed every bird in that pen. It was winter so I was able to see where he got into the barn & I couldn't believe how small a hole it was. I say he because he came back 3 days later & came in the samr spot. This time I had a trap waiting for him. A Weasel can be even worse. They'll get through an even smaller hole, will kill just as many & are all but impossible to catch.

 

[Blissinged]

I think a racoon would be the worst...they always seem to find their way through most traps.

 

[Rozzie]

We only had two times when we had predator problems. Both times we never were certain what creature was involved. We suspected a local coyote pack in one case -- ducks were killed. In the other case, we actually suspected a bear. We were outside normal bear country but had bear through on rare occasions. Something literally PEELED back chicken wire AND welded wire in that case. The pen had BOTH peeled off the 4x4 posts several feet up. The only reasonable guess we had was a bear. An unreasonable guess would be a Sasquatch.

Edited to add: This pen was also inside a chain link fenced off area. The chain link was not damaged.