One less chicken killer! : ) kinda graphic

[gsim]

I can not speak to things that people might or might not have in their hearts. Who among us can know another person's heart? That is not an issue anyway. The issue is protection of one's flock. Predators are opportunists and will seek the easiest way to feed themselves. We have the obligation to care for those animals we own. If some of us hate predators because they complicate our lives; what of it? I hate drunk drivers. So what? They will still drink and kill innocent people regardless. The predators will continue to breed and reproduce and be a threat whether or not some of us hate them and others simply kill the ones who try to kill our flocks.

Being concerned about whether one sets a trap to protect his flock with hate in their heart or simply does it because it is economically more sound to protect an investment than to let a predator destroy that investment is a waste of what might be time that could be better spent elsewhere.

No matter what we say on here, some people will always hate predators and others will not. It will have Zero effect on the world either way. Catching and releasing predators that have proven to want to kill chickens only takes the problem and unfairly puts it in someone else's neighborhood. What is right about that?

All of this put aside, many people who are members of BYC and who have chronic predator problems might do better to upgrade their coops and runs, or to keep their flocks confined. In most cases that would prove to cut losses. It costs money up front though. If free-ranging, then flock losses must be expected.

I lost 4 layers over 4 years, all to hawks. (No land predator ever breached my run.) I installed netting. Problem solved. If I see evidence of a predator attempting to dig their way under the concrete base of my run, I will set a trap, and I will not release the thing somewhere else. Does that prove I hate it, or does that show that I realize that it is not right for me to dump a chicken killer in someone else's neighborhood?

Gerry

 

[Jmanvanatta]

i was pointing out that he called them soft for saying nice things about the oppsom and i was saying thats not cool, they just look past the fact that they go after chickens and look at the species as a whole.

 

[iremiz]

Eye for an eye.
Tree days ago in the morning I let my girls in the yard as usual . I have been doing this for the past 2 years. 4 hours later when I came back 7 chickens were killed. The scene were horrific. All backyard was covered in feathers and blood. Some of the chickens were laying on the different parts of the garden beheaded of partially neck chewed up. Some were berried and camouflaged under the dirt and leaves.
After 2 days we caught an opossum the size of my miniature poodle. It's gone.

 

[ghostwolf211]

Where I live we have a lot of red and grey fox so possum's aren't much of a problem....And unless i'm outside in the yard my girls are in their runs....No loss's yet

 

[gsim]

I have an electrified run of 1900 sq ft for 10 chooks, all hens. Have had this arrangement for 4 1/2 years now. Two years ago we suffered two dual kills from the same red tail hawk. I installed heavy duty netting over head and no more losses since. No predator has ever breached my fence. It is 2x4 welded wire 6 ft tall, set in cement all the way around. It has four courses of hot wire around it on insulators. 20 Kilovolts. Ouch! Until the hawks came in and took casualties with airborne forces I was pretty smug. We have so darned many resident crows hereabouts that I figured no hawk or owl could operate in this area. Hah! Never say never. I am no longer smug, but instead am watchful.

 

[finnfur]

I have an electrified run of 1900 sq ft for 10 chooks, all hens. Have had this arrangement for 4 1/2 years now. Two years ago we suffered two dual kills from the same red tail hawk. I installed heavy duty netting over head and no more losses since. No predator has ever breached my fence. It is 2x4 welded wire 6 ft tall, set in cement all the way around. It has four courses of hot wire around it on insulators. 20 Kilovolts. Ouch! Until the hawks came in and took casualties with airborne forces I was pretty smug. We have so darned many resident crows hereabouts that I figured no hawk or owl could operate in this area. Hah! Never say never. I am no longer smug, but instead am watchful.

Yep crows will usually alert you but not positively drive off the Hawk if he is intent on a chicken . Keep all in Enet and no loses from ground predators but lost two to Redtail last early fall when they were on migration. I put out Scarehawks this year and no loses this year . Doesn't mean I won't though.

 

[Michael Apple]

In the 36 years of raising chickens, I've never known anyone, or experienced myself, having problems with possums killing mature chickens. I see them once in awhile, and have heard about them stealing eggs while birds are out ranging. They are pretty slow moving, can't see well, and usually retreat from what I've seen. I save the rounds for coon, fox, and coyote here.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

they are not soft they just arn't blinded by hatered....

If the posters in question were blinded by 'hatered' as you say, they would be running around the countryside killing every opossum in sight. There is no evidence that this is the case.

Killing every opossum you find near your poultry is nothing but good chicken husbandry, it is that pure and simple.

 

[Michael Apple]

What a bunch of softies!!!!

It is about the ugliest darn thing, and you guys are just too soft-hearted for your own good!

I never experienced enjoyment killing things, but do to protect my animals. Some people aren't wise when it comes to wild animals or those we put in the varmint category. I wouldn't advocate killing an animal just because it was ugly though. With all the horror stories about possums on this thread, we're supposed to think they are more dangerous than coyotes, coon, fox, and bobcat all put together.

 

[gsim]

I won't wait until I see one or more of my chooks dead. If a predator is in the neighborhood shopping, it has come to the wrong place. It is only there for one reason, being to kill my chickens. That said, I've never yet had to shoot or trap even one. My run is pretty hard for anything but a weasel to penetrate, and if a weasel gets against that hot wire that runs around it, he won't return. I shut my coop every single night in the evening before dusk so even if the run was penetrated by a weasel, it could never get to my birds in their coop.