These past few months are the first in 11 years that I have had trouble with preditors.
I have never had a really secure set-up in most of these years, but never had a problem before. (I have an old movable coop, called a Hen Haven from a now defunct company. The pen section collapsed a few years ago.)
First back in August, a fox (I suspect) came and took a broody hen right off of her chicks. A few weeks ago the fox came back and took a couple pullets.
The remaining pullets and hen have been roosting way up in a tree since this time.
I am working on securing the coop.
My other problem is now that the chickens are more inaccessable, the preditor has been knocking over the plastic trash container I store the feed in and ripping the top off of it.
(This is no squirrel it's something larger and stronger.)
My coop design does not allow for food storage.
Will a metal trash conatiner keep the preditor out? Or would he just knock it over and pull the lid off?
What type of container would be fox, racoon, opposum proof? ( I'm hoping not to have to worry about bears.
)
I have never had a really secure set-up in most of these years, but never had a problem before. (I have an old movable coop, called a Hen Haven from a now defunct company. The pen section collapsed a few years ago.)
First back in August, a fox (I suspect) came and took a broody hen right off of her chicks. A few weeks ago the fox came back and took a couple pullets.
The remaining pullets and hen have been roosting way up in a tree since this time.
I am working on securing the coop.
My other problem is now that the chickens are more inaccessable, the preditor has been knocking over the plastic trash container I store the feed in and ripping the top off of it.
(This is no squirrel it's something larger and stronger.)
My coop design does not allow for food storage.
Will a metal trash conatiner keep the preditor out? Or would he just knock it over and pull the lid off?
What type of container would be fox, racoon, opposum proof? ( I'm hoping not to have to worry about bears.

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