Official BYC Poll: The Worst Predator

[juliedevos]

I am brand new to the forum, and a totally-in-love chicken mama for about a year. This has been a horrible week! I got home from a trip last night, and my house-sitter (who is wonderful and also happens to be my vet), told me that when she came home from work last night 3 hens were missing. Hmmmm. Today I went looking for them and calling, to no avail. My beautiful rooster, Rudy and the 2 remaining hens were free ranging right around the house, just as they have always done and all of a sudden I heard a commotion. I ran around the barn, just in time to catch the backside of either a red fox or a red coyote with Rudy in his mouth. I screamed and gave chase, but he was through the gate and gone in a flash. I came back to find that my rat terrier had tangled with him as well, he was pretty torn up. My hubby took him (the dog) to the vet, and he'll be fine, thankfully.

I think I am going to order the electric poultry fence, because I cannot go through this heartbreak again. I guess my question is - how did those of you who have been through this get over the the guilt and the sadness. I have cried and cried and just am so very sad. Everyone seems to think I'm crazy (after all, they say, it's just a chicken). I am actually torn between getting the electric fence or just getting out of the chickens altogether, but they have brought me so much pleasure. Any advice?

Sad in Tennessee

 

[ctbagley]

To Juliedevos asking about getting over the guilt of losing your chickens...it takes a long while, but you can go on with new chickens. I would wait a while to add more and in the meantime decide what measures you are willing to take to protect them. After losing many over the years, I lost my favorite rooster and his whole flock while I went to pick up someone at the airport. I cried for months. My husband and I sat down and researched everything we could find on predator proofing our next coop/run. Be prepared to spend some money. We bought a 12' by 20' metal carport, had a neighbor with a dozer/cup dig out an 18 inch ditch around the outside perimeter. We then bent hardware cloth at a 90 degree angle and had 3 tons of gravel delivered into the perimeter and also some to spread on the interior of the run. We then attached livestock wire to the hardware cloth where it came up out of the ground and ran it up the sides to the roof. Then we added two strands of electric wire at 6 and 8 inches around all but the door, which is double latched and has a big rock in front of it. Also it has hardware cloth up the door. My husband then built a coop inside the run, elevated about 24 inches and we wrapped the ramp with poultry wire which really deters snakes from trying to go up into it. The finish work was putting in 50 bags of topsoil mixed with sand and pine shavings. Because of the perimeter ditch, we don't have any mud or puddlling in the coop. So far, nothing has been able to get in. We have dozens of skunks, raccoons, fox, coyote, neighbors hunting dogs, possums and even a bobcat that I have spotted. We know the raccoons tried the door (we saw pawprints) and we saw a skunk get shocked by the wires. All told, the entire "fortress" cost us about $1800....we are still paying it off but it was SO worth it. I loved having free ranging chickens but the heartbreak of losing them was too much. I love going out each day and hanging out in the "fortress" with my little seramas and they are so happy. I put in a sand/diatomaceous earth pit for them to bathe in and replenish the dirt/shavings every 6 months or so. It stays clean, they have shade and they can scratch around to their hearts content. We gave up one year of vacation to help pay for all this, even if you can only do part of it, I'd say dig a ditch, line it with the hardware cloth and buy a small fence charger that will cover 1/4 mile or so and only let them free range if you are home. I have two big chickens that I sit with in the afternoons while they scratch around. They live in our barn the rest of the time. They make me take time out of my day to relax. Don't give up, just get mad and do what you can to protect them. Good luck.

 

[Aimless Farmer]

Wow! I keep reading about people having problems with snakes. Up here in the North East U.S., I can't think of any stories of people having snake issues with their full grown chickens. Eating eggs and chicks, I can see. I can't think of a snake in my neck of the woods who would make it alive through my chicken yard to get to the coop to eat eggs. Our Rattlesnakes are up in the mountains/hills, and have easier prey than chickens. Rat snakes prefer rodents, which is why I let them live in my basement We also have Milk snakes, Water snakes, Ring Necks, and a plethora of Garters. I've seen my flock attack a young Garter who slithered into the yard. Poor fella never stood a chance of me rescuing him. Girls ran around playing "Keep Away" for about a half hour before they ate him/her.

What kinds of snakes are we talking about here, people? And where do you all live where you wrap your coop ramps to ward against them? Help me wrap my brain around this...

 

[ctbagley]

Hi aimless farmer...we are in central NC near the VA border and we have lots of copperheads and rat snakes. The rat snakes have tried to go after some of my really small serama bantams. We caught one inside the brooder pen and got him just before he got them. We have seen copperheads in our barn and killed a whole nest of babies one year. The rat snakes will definitely try to go up the ramp to the coop...but not since we wrapped it in poultry wire (which the little chickens like for better traction too). Whenever I see the whole group being herded into the coop during the day, I look for the snake passing through. Our neighbor saw a rat snake grab a barn swallow from his hiding spot above the metal barn doors...they can climb amazingly well! I agree with many that dogs are the worst predator. Our rural neighbors think it is great to let out their young hunting dogs with a couple older ones to get "taught to hunt" by the more experienced dogs. Guess where they used to come hunt....till we built the "fortress".

 

[Aimless Farmer]

Wow! Thanks for satisfying my curiosity, ctbagley. We do have Copperheads up here, but they prefer rockier areas. When I lived out in Western MA, we would catch sight of them sunning on rocks when we were trail riding horses up in the hills, especially around cave areas. Even in that area of MA, never heard of them being spotted near inhabited areas, just by people out riding, hiking or camping.

I've seen a 4 foot Rat snake climb the fieldstone wall in our cellar, all zig-zaggy. I wouldn't be surprised to see them eat small birds out of nests. We have an overabundance of mice, moles and chipmunks who use our cellar, so I'm happy to let the Rat snakes have at them. Our chicks, when we have them, are safe from snakey predators while inside the house, and once they're outside, they're too big for them to snack on. I would love to see a Rat snake wrestling with a squirrel (my other nemesis!)

 

[americanamama]

1.racoons

 

[Kuntrygirl70]

I feel the same way juliedevos, I just lost 6 chickens in 2 days, I feel ur pain about loosing chickens, they were my favorite ones all 3 months old and my friends. We thought it was a coon but the smaller hole under the fence says its not. Sorry for ur loss. Its a horrible feeling, I know first hand. Let us know if u get more!

 

[Kuntrygirl70]

Racoon

 

[Kuntrygirl70]

Racoon

 

[jaycee77]

We lost most of our old flock to a racoon last year but the worst was when we came home one evening and found most of our birds (chickens, ducks, turkey and geese) chased down and killed by dogs.