Please help!! 11 dead chickens

[MandyFitch]

My friend had something claw and chew through 3/4 inch plywood so that is not thick enough. It killed all 15 of his chickens.

Really?!!! Seems like nothing is safe then!

 

[houseofknauss]

My friend had something claw and chew through 3/4 inch plywood so that is not thick enough. It killed all 15 of his chickens.

if something managed to get in my coop that way, then they would have to be good jumpers also since my chickens roost 5 to 6 ft in the air. (my ducks might be in trouble tho)

 

[jenX72]

Doesn't it seem that way!? Like nothing is safe enough? I was reading something in a chicken magazine at the store the other day, and it was talking about how to determine what has attacked your chickens and it said nearly EVERYTHING is a predator to a chicken. They even had man listed (hungry neighbors? *shrugs*) ...I walk around the coops everyday, just looking at every single thing...seeing if I see where anything has tried to dig or scratch at anything. Some of the ground is eroding away at the bottom of the barn, so I need to fill that back up cos something could eventually squeeze in that way. I try to be meticulous about keeping it very clean to keep down any odors, and I also put the food up at night, because those smells could attract other animals, and then they would see something even better- the chickens!

 

[Triple Willow]

if something managed to get in my coop that way, then they would have to be good jumpers also since my chickens roost 5 to 6 ft in the air. (my ducks might be in trouble tho)

That high and no ladder? What breed chickens do you have?

 

[veramoomoo]

well it could be racoons. We had chickens die from them

 

[houseofknauss]

That high and no ladder? What breed chickens do you have?

they have a roost bar at about 3 1/2 foot off the ground. from there they can get to all the other ones that I have at various heights. the highest one I have is almost 7 feet up. I have 1 barred rock, she stays on the lower ones, and then i have 6 rir and 2 leghorn mixes, 1 Sussex mix and 1 black something or other. From my experience with leghorns, the higher the better they like it. My rir 's like to get up there also .My Sussex roo likes to be at about 5 1/2 foot up on "his" roost bar. my floor is pretty cushy right now since it has a layer of sand and then bedding. so no hard landings.

I came out last summer and found both my regular leghorns(now past on)

up in one of my apple trees about 20 feet up. just hanging out sitting watching everything---- they came down when i shook the food---who knows what chickens like till you give them the choice?????

 

[houseofknauss]

besides, winter is coming and the higher up they are in my coop, the warmer they are. the ducks don't care about being on the floor, they have so much insulation on them.

 

[Triple Willow]

besides, winter is coming and the higher  up they are in my coop, the warmer they are.  the ducks don't care about being on the floor, they have so much insulation on them.

True. I was reading something the other day about putting a tarp a little ways up over the roost to sort of lower the ceiling and keep birds warmer when it is real cold. I can see that helping quite a bit unless they decide to get ON the tarp. (I've seen "survival" examples of a tarp draped in a sort of an "A-frame" over a person to help stay warm while sleeping.)

 

[aart]

True. I was reading something the other day about putting a tarp a little ways up over the roost to sort of lower the ceiling and keep birds warmer when it is real cold. I can see that helping quite a bit unless they decide to get ON the tarp. (I've seen "survival" examples of a tarp draped in a sort of an "A-frame" over a person to help stay warm while sleeping.)

Watch you don't trap moisture with that tarp...it's the moisture getting on the combs and waddles in freezing temps that cause frostbite.

 

[Triple Willow]

Watch you don't trap moisture with that tarp...it's the moisture getting on the combs and waddles in freezing temps that cause frostbite.

Yeah I wondered if it would do that. I really don't see it working over a whole coop but maaaybe if the roost area was off to one side like in a bigger coop. I've got a leghorn roo and an ancona roo that I am wondering about how their comb and wattles will do this winter. Their's are huge. I am going to get a couple new indoor/outdoor thermometors so I can keep an eye on the temp and humidity in the coops.