Predators and time of day

[jazzpurr]

Do predators have a time of day pattern? Or are chickens simply very attractive to the long list I am reading about?

I have no dogs in my area. I am on 6 acres with lots of unoccupied mountain behind me.

I do have a lot or Red Tail Hawks.

I have never seen a raccoon but I am sure I have seen their prints in the mud.

I suppose possums are everywhere but I never seen one around here
either, not even as road kill.

If I cover a large portion of the run with screen will the chickens know to run
for cover or is any hole in the screen a sure invite to a meal?

Thanks In Advance.

 

[jazzpurr]

One more predator I have seen around here...snakes..
There are some pretty big black snakes. Ands a lot of them. They are non-poisonous and prey
on the few rattlers and copperheads we do have.

Do snakes only eat eggs?

How do I leave the coop open for the girls to go lay in the nesting box without worrying about a snake getting in and waiting too?

I know..I'm panicking in advance..

Thanks for your input

 

[silkiechicken]

Chickens are the words snack food.

If you have hawks, you can provide a covered run or lots of places for them to hide and the knowing risk that they can be gotten.

The coons are the worst in this area and I had one learn how to open latches on doors.

My advise is to make a secure coop to lock them up and a secure run just in case.

Then read up on your local predators and figure out what their local appearance problem is. Hawks will be your day preds and coons will be primarly night.

Snakes are variable and it will depend on the kind if it goes for eggs or your birds.

 

[foxtrapper]

Very loosely, the mammal predators are night biased. But that is by no means anything but a very loose statement. People get up at night, and coons/fox/cat/etc get up during the day. When you place delicious snacks out there for them to enjoy, they do so.