Opossums and foxes and raccoons...oh my!

[Ibicella]

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You bring up a very good point. It's certainly not better. I don't think anybody WANTS to be inhumane to these predators. It's not a crime to be hungry, after all.

Unfortunately, the problem lies in that you can't relocate them without causing problems for the animal or other people near where you drop it (which is not very humane), and you can't let them live because they will come back, and they WILL find a way into your coop. They will chew the splinters off a coop bit by bit if they have to. Your choices are to kill them or give up keeping livestock. That's it.

The point of the other thread that is if killing is our only option (which it pretty much is), doing it as painlessly to the animal as possible is the best way to go.

If you don't own a gun....well, drowning and poisoning tends to be pretty fast and complete, even if the animal may be in pain/terror initially.

 

[theFox]

Quote:
You bring up a very good point. It's certainly not better. I don't think anybody WANTS to be inhumane to these predators. It's not a crime to be hungry, after all.

Unfortunately, the problem lies in that you can't relocate them without causing problems for the animal or other people near where you drop it (which is not very humane), and you can't let them live because they will come back, and they WILL find a way into your coop. They will chew the splinters off a coop bit by bit if they have to. Your choices are to kill them or give up keeping livestock. That's it.

The point of the other thread that is if killing is our only option (which it pretty much is), doing it as painlessly to the animal as possible is the best way to go.

If you don't own a gun....well, drowning and poisoning tends to be pretty fast and complete, even if the animal may be in pain/terror initially.

You folks can argue about how to do the deed, the fact remains that eventually the deed will need to be done if you keep any prey animals and expect to never lose any to predators. Even if you or someone else does the deed it doesn't mean you won't suffer a loss of one of your animals.

This btw includes your furry little kitty cats and puppy dogs.

The OP said no guns so she either makes her entire operation Fort Knox (which really isn't as easy as anyone might think and still isn't fool proof, the human factor is involved and they are not as reliable as they seem to think they are), or puts up with losing some of her birds. The choice is hers.

I've seen predators take other predators in broad daylight, I frequently see predators around my property, however, the only thing that has actually gone for the chickens is a dog. I do not expect this to always be the case. Our coop is solid, double walled, with a ceramic tile floor and baseboard. My fencing is to keep the birds in and out of the vegetable gardens not the nasties out, for that I have other means at my disposal.

 

[gsim]

Some talk of how bad it is to kill preds by poisoning. It is. But, those same preds are abandoning their natural food sources in favor of defenseless chickens at YOUR home. And worse yet, they will return time after time for the easier pickings on your defenseless chickens or sometimes puppies or kittens. So what are you going to do? One of three things: Kill them, keep feeding them, or get out of poultry raising.

 

[asher]

I do not have a problem killing predators, but have chose not to have guns in the home.

We have outdoor cats so cannot do anti-freeze. They actually chased something off last night. Fox was back again last night.

I do have two dogs, but they are indoor pampered brats.

A friend mentioned having hubby and the boys...er...mark the territory. Will this work if the dogs do it, too or just people?

(We have had chickens for almost 4yrs and not yet lost one to a predator. *fingers crossed* We do try to keep things pretty tight and safe. I will say that neither the opossum or the fox did get in the run, that we saw.)

 

[theFox]

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Then add to your rings of protection by adding live traps, just don't let the predator go either on your lot or elsewhere.

As for having your hubby or boys "mark" the property, good luck, I've been known to let lose when outside, it has never stopped the 'yotes nor foxes from coming around.

You likely would need actual large predator urine for that to be effective. Predators aren't like deer.

Remember a hungry animal doesn't care about anything but its next meal, if it is really hungry the following should give you a clue.

I've had a red fox walk out of the woods right past me while standing tending out a deer crossing, it didn't even change gait as it headed to where it was going.

I've even had a gray fox walk towards me only to get caught in a leg hold trap set by a trapper.