Official BYC Poll: The Worst Predator

[PippyChicken]

DOG DOG DOG DOG DOG DOG DOG DOG!!!!!!!!!! need i say more?!

I've lost my favorite breeding chickens to a retarded stupid dog.

 

[Churkenduse]

Oh that is horribly my dog plays with my chickens and protects them, it is funny.
Isn't there anythig you can do, dogs are supposed to b on leashes, doesn't that count in your area?

In NJ we just aqhd a terrible storm, as it started to hit I tried to get my girls in th coop since I had new straw etc etc.

They are still under my low deck, one problem:

I see large prints and they are not my dog, I lost one the other day to a hawk.
They are literally sitting ducks under there as the snow mets the fox will most likely find them. I cannot get them out yet the smow is too deep still.

 

[nwfl]

After many various experiences we have: fortified the perimeter, reinforced with chain link and metal grating, installed nail boards inground around housing, pounded in rebar stakes, and electrified the perimeter and all metal. In addition, we have several live traps of different size. Every animal has been on our property - from mice to feral pig to bear. The only creatures we can't control are neighbors dogs and their owners. The most desruction has been from dogs which don't seem to be fazed by electricity. Nail boards dug into the ground were my husbands idea. We catch something in traps every night.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Quote:
Yes, most happen at night, often just after dusk when nocturnal predators are starting to hunt. But it depends on the predator. Night hunters primarily racoons, oppossum, rats, cougars, owls, bobcats, bears. Day hunters hawks, dogs, cats, Dusk, Dawn hunters fox, coyotes. Always hunters snakes, cats, man. These are generalities. But off the top of my head that's close. Also eagles don't eat much chicken, east of the Rockies their diet is primarily rabbits, large rodents, fish and carrion
Quote:
When they free range (which is what chickens love to do) they are vulnerable to everything. When locked up in the coop at night they're safe IF nothing can get in. Tiny holes can be trouble. You need big ventilation so never use screens rather durable metal hardware cloth firmly attached all around. This goes for all vent openings. To prevent digging under the run fence I use either a concrete foundation or large 18" paver stones along the outside of the fence and check often for digging there. Some use an electrified wire just outside the run near the base.
From above I cover the entire run with woven wire fencing or galvanized roofing for the areas I want to keep dry.
If you need to span a large area you can use 1/2" emt tubing (thinwall conduit) spaced and if necessary supported with metal fence posts or in my case (7" high pen) 2X3 studs. They don't even have to be in the ground. I just drill a hole in the stud just larger than the tubing and slide them over and let them free stand.
It's brutal to make these modifications in winter but dress warm and get out there.
Good luck to all.

 

[LindenLiving]

I have lost two chickens to my chocolate lab. He normally is a sweet and adorable thing, but his puppy training for bird hunting, which was never completed by my husband, has given him a predator instinct for my poor chickens. I have to be super vigilant and never, ever, allow him out when I am working with the chickens.

Love my dog....love my chickens...so I had to live with the tragedy and learn from my mistakes!

 

[Pg_noobs]

Quote:
THose bad wild dogs. Well i dont blame the dogs i blame the owners who let them run around

 

[badbuffalo]

ferrets thoses things are crazy

 

[plantmgr]

I have an opossum that has snuck into the chicken house three days in a row. It can squeeze through the chicken fence! I've had to drag it out with a garden rake because it hides under the nesting boxes. I gave it a good kick the second day and it scurried away. My dog couldn't reach it under the nesting boxes, but she really tried. I think she was scared of it. (another story for another time)

I was determined to get it yesterday and had plans to call my cousin who could shoot it, but it didn't show up. I don't think I'm lucky enough for it to be gone for good. It's kind of small, and I haven't noticed any eggs eaten, unless he took them completely away - and the chickens are fine for now!

I'm going to check again this afternoon. I wasn't at all nice with the rake. I can't imagine it wanting to go through that again, but I'm not sure how good their memories are.

 

[chickendude1]

Man kills like thousands of chickens a year way more than any wild animal. Raccons would be the worst wild predator.

 

[Cacciatore]

I lost a Bantam cockerel to a hawk and six hens to raccoons. The neighbor's dog got into the chicken run one day and pulled a lot of feathers out of several chickens but I was able to get him out before he killed any of them. Any time a predator gets at my chickens I feel terrible. I'm supposed to be protecting them and providing them with safe quarters, and when something gets to them I feel like I have failed them.