post your chicken coop pictures here!

[FarmerPhronc]

You never know you have predators until you get chickens.

I've lived in rural Colorado for 10+ years so have a pretty good idea of what predators to be wary of. I just got my hens a week ago, so far no signs of predators.

Aren't most predators nocturnal hunters, except maybe hawks and eagles, or am I just fooling myself?



I have a rather good sized, fenced in back yard, with 2 day time predator deterrents, lol

I keep my 5 ladies in this coop with 16 gauge 1/2" x 1" welded wire



I have added a 6 X 12 foot run made from chain link dog kennel panels.



I have it so I can pull up the ramp, safely enclosing the ladies in the roost area at night.

 

[ShrekDawg]

You only have one family of foxes because they are territorial. If one moves out (by choice or not) another will takes its place. That is true of a lot of animals. And you never know what is on your property when you aren't looking. I've seen turkeys in the fields up the road, even had to wait one day while driving up the road for about 10 of them to leisurely cross, the Tom last, and occasionally in our field up at the edge of the woods. But 2 years ago we had to have a lot of work done on the house and the contractor showed me a picture he took of his youngish dog looking at a large turkey just a couple of feet away. They were not 10' from the back of the house. 

I hadn't realized they were territorial. That explains it. Though I haven't seen any in a while and we may only have one fox. And very true. We currently have maybe 18? 19? Turkeys living here. Just saw them maybe two weeks ago or more and then just yesterday. Haven't seen the Tom yet though. We used to see one sometimes but lately I've only seen the females. Though clearly they are doing very well for themselves lol

You never know you have predators until you get chickens.  I never knew we had Hawks, Raccoons and Oppossums in our city neighborhood but these critters adapt easily and in fact fluorish in city garbage bins behind stores.  I saw a Raccoon the size of a small goat coming out of our neighborhood street drain at 2 a.m.  We see the huge Raccoons late afternoons on the golf courses.  I'm happy to see Coon and Possum roadkill on the streets because that means a half-dozen less new kits next year!  There are some open spaces in rural areas that have to deal with Wild Pigs and I'm glad not to have to face them!

And very true!! Raccoons have adapted soo well to city life. The scary thing is city life is actually making them SMARTER than country coons. I watched a documentary a few months ago and it was so interesting but also scary haha it was by Nature (you know, PBS) and I watched it on Netflix, if you have it. I will see if I can find the name of it for you. They tracked a group of raccoons all through the city. It was so fascinating.

 

[ShrekDawg]

And I'm also glad there are no wild pigs her. Lol

 

[cabinchicky]

From what I have read about egg production, I think I should be getting eggs anytime now. I want to make sure I'm doing everything right. Do the nesting boxes have to be enclosed? Mine are in what I call the nesting box "condo" inside of my combo coop/run. Do they need more privacy than that? I could modify it if necessary.

I've lived in rural Colorado for 10+ years so have a pretty good idea of what predators to be wary of. I just got my hens a week ago, so far no signs of predators. Aren't most predators nocturnal hunters, except maybe hawks and eagles, or am I just fooling myself? I have a rather good sized, fenced in back yard, with 2 day time predator deterrents, lol I keep my 5 ladies in this coop with 16 gauge 1/2" x 1" welded wire I have added a 6 X 12 foot run made from chain link dog kennel panels. I have it so I can pull up the ramp, safely enclosing the ladies in the roost area at night.

Your set up looks good but May I suggest you add a dig barrier to the dog run fence. Use welded wire fence if you can. Attach it to the bottom of the run and lay it out on the ground to 1.5 to 2 ft. you can cover it with large rocks or whatever that is heavy until you can bury it. You will be surprised what will try to get under a fence.

 

[cabinchicky]

ojhayes, love your red roof coop!But yes please replace the chicken wire as others have suggested.

 

[cabinchicky]

I posted this some time back: I use a carabiner in mine. It is attached to the door handle with a long cord and is then also useful for holding the door open by clipping the carabiner to the welded wire on the side of the coop.

This is the type of gate latch I use for my run gates. I put a d ring (like you use for a trailer I think, I grabbed two from Hubby's stash) to keep the coons out and it has worked. no breaking for two plus years. my pen is closed with a simple hook latch but it is inside the coop. Once the brooder and quail pen is together they will have the same style as Bruce has. Going to reuse most of the prefab coop and run we started out with for the brooder and quail pen. I need to rethink the pen idea and see yet what it will take. Hope there is enough of it to get one more pen to start a trio of guineas.

 

[Granny368W]

Chicken coop started as tractor, but now it is fixed. Four Ameraucanas, two Road Island Reds. Hopefully adding six more in spring. Bobcat Proof (So Far)

Wow! Where do you live? Rae

 

[perchie.girl]

bobcats are like ghosts... in broad daylight you can look directly at them and still not see them till they move twitch an ear or tip of tail. ONe time I came around a corner and froze because I saw something move. It was right at a culvert... natural brush in the back ground

I stopped the car and stared... it turned and disappeared. This was about six oclock in the morning.

Same thing for Mountain lions. I have only seen one... a ghost in the fog crossing the road. Same time in the morning too;

I am located in San Diego County

deb

 

[bruceha2000]

I've lived in rural Colorado for 10+ years so have a pretty good idea of what predators to be wary of. I just got my hens a week ago, so far no signs of predators.

Aren't most predators nocturnal hunters, except maybe hawks and eagles, or am I just fooling myself?



I have a rather good sized, fenced in back yard, with 2 day time predator deterrents, lol

Most? Some!

Foxes usually dawn to somewhat later, then prior to sundown. At least here. Both of the fox attacks I have had were in late April about an hour before the chickens would have decided it was time to head in for the night. And they go in well before it is dark outside. I don't usually see the foxes later in the spring and summer. My guess is the kits are born before there is an abundance of natural food like mice and voles so the mamas risk human contact to get at the oblivious foraging chickens.

Weasels, as I understand it, will get up on the chickens' backs while they roost and play vampire on their necks, so yes, nocturnal. Which is why the coop must be weasel proof. If it is weasel proof, it is likely "everything else" proof though I suppose not much other than solid walls and small openings will keep out a bear that was really interested in KFC (Koop Fresh Chicken). Raccoons are also more likely at night. I've not seen any here but that doesn't mean they aren't around. I'm not out at night to see them and the chickens are in the weasel proof stall converted to a coop. Certainly they could get into the barn through the tunnels the !@#$% chucks dug. And smaller mammals too. I think voles have made the smaller entry holes under the sills (what there are of them).

Your 2 deterrents, assuming they don't have a taste for chicken, are excellent. Most predators are unlikely to visit, they will head to the next "restaurant", the one with the screen door

 

[ShrekDawg]

How does one make a coop weasel proof? I was thinking just solid wood and hardware cloth but is there something special that needs to be done?