Predator Schedules

[jgaepi]

You can tell that I am a newbie from my onslaught of posts today. But just to understand my predator issue betters, I have to worry about predators at different times right? Hawks during the day and Raccoons at night?

I also have a fenced in yard, does this help deter raccoons?

If I lock my hens up every night, do I reasonably eliminate my raccoon and fox issue? And then I am just left with a hawk concern.

I don't know how my buddy has done it but he has a near similar backyard to me and has no roof on his long (100ft) run. Locks the hens up at night. And hasn't lost anything.

 

[baldessariclan]

You are right -- different predators operate at different times. Hawks/dogs/coyotes/etc. will be a problem during the day, and raccoons/possums/weasels/etc. at night.

Good (tall!) fences will keep dogs and coyotes out (unless they can dig under). Raccoons are excellent climbers, though, so fences won't have much (if any) effect on them (unless they happen to be electric...

)

A secure/predator-proof coop will eliminate most of your night predator worries, while a fenced-in and netted-over area will keep out the daytime trouble-makers.

 

[Sjisty]

Yes, raccoons are nocturnal, so closing your chickens up in a coop at night should protect them from raccoons and possums. A fence won't stop them, they will just climb over it. Foxes will attack your chickens in broad daylight. I lost seven chickens in two days to a fox, all in the middle of the day. I know it's a fox because I actually saw it one time. Hawks, of course, hunt all day and the only way to keep your chickens completely safe is to cover their run.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Raccoons reach my pens from above. If I go out at night I see them coming down from the trees onto the coop and into the pens.

Possums and fox can climb well too.

Build a tight strong coop with good latches and lock up when they go in for the night.
Coons and possums usually hit right after dusk.
Lots of bushes for the chickens to hide under help for hawks. Polish, Houdans and silkies are very susceptible to hawks.
Owls hunt at night but I always see them just after dawn. I'm sure if they're hungry they'll hunt in the day also.
Dogs and cats hunt day and night - very opportunistic and hunt for fun.

 

[jgaepi]

Has anyone ever put some nails along the top of a fence for raccoons. Though they could hurt the chickens too I guess.

 

[Sjisty]

Quote:
I haven't even thought about it. We used to trap 'coons and caught about 60 of them in 6 months or so. We also caught about 80 possumes, the neighbor's two cats, and one of our own chickens (we forgot to spring the traps one day). Then I realized they couldn't hurt our chickens since we locked them up at night. Now we don't worry about the things that go bump in the night. We have lost more to our neighbor's three dogs in the mornings than we ever lost to a raccoon. Of course, ever since Animal Control told her that they advised us to shoot the dogs, we haven't seen them, either!

Edited to add - I'm such a klutz, I'd probably rip my arms open if we put nails on the fence!

 

[bleith]

Nails wont stop a coon. Maybe razor wire that they use at the prisons, but not nails

 

[Imp]

Raccoons and possums will come out in the day. Not as often as nighttime, but it only takes once.

Imp

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Fences will not stop coyotes unless they are VERY tall (at least 8', and that is not a certainty). Coyotes can jump quite high. A solid fence is more likely to keep them out than is one that can be seen through as they cannot assess that there is or is not a threat, and they cannot see your birds, although I am sure they can smell them.

The number and specific predators can vary drastically from one area to another. That may well be why your frind has no problem with open runs.

 

[Mattemma]

I think everything you do just slows down the predators.Some will chew through wire.Eelctric fence is good.Dogs can be a serious pest.I seen a possum during the day by my hens.Caught that one by hand.Hawks are a PITA all day and all year imo. I had a dog climb over my 6 foot fence(had it locked in the yard and AC on the way).