Predators keep attacking my chickens/ducks, how to keep them out of my yard?

[BlackHenCoop]

So I have had various instances where my chickens have been attacked by stay dogs. My chickens aren’t free ranged, but I’ll let them out into my yard when I’m watching them, and I’ll go inside for just a few minutes and come back out to find stray dogs attacking them, this has happened a few times, no chickens have died yet, but the fact they do it in plain day tells me they aren’t going to stop until they kill all of them. I do a good job of keeping them out of the run and coop, but I need to find a way to get these stray dogs out of here. Any suggestions?

 

[DemeterAD9]

Where do you live? Animal control is one thing, talking to the neighbors if they happen to be their dogs is also an option. IMO if these dogs are not friendly/tame and you can't easily catch them, shoot them. If they are attacking your flock I would imagine they are also terrorizing the natural wildlife in the area, which is a big no-no where I live. We don't need them killing off the natural population of critters and we certainly don't need them killing our livestock.

I haven't had strays attack my birds yet, only lost one to what I'm guessing was a coon. I have since trapped and dispatched several coons and a couple possums. While many prefer to keep their birds completely enclosed to prevent predator attacks I like to let mine free range and take out the predators before they become a major problem.

Your only other option is to completely enclose your coop and run and not let your birds free range.

 

[FuzzyDinoNuggets]

I would put up wire or electric fencing around the whole yard.

 

[DLA]

Fence your yard, buy a portable electric fencing unit, build a large secure run around your coop, build a chicken tractor. Are the dogs truly strays or do they belong to someone? If you find their owners tell them to control their animals and/or contact animal control. I know what some people who live in the country on farms do when strays are threatening their livestock - but that may not be an option in some areas and not something everyone is willing or able to do.

 

[BlackHenCoop]

Where do you live? Animal control is one thing, talking to the neighbors if they happen to be their dogs is also an option. IMO if these dogs are not friendly/tame and you can't easily catch them, shoot them. If they are attacking your flock I would imagine they are also terrorizing the natural wildlife in the area, which is a big no-no where I live. We don't need them killing off the natural population of critters and we certainly don't need them killing our livestock.

I haven't had strays attack my birds yet, only lost one to what I'm guessing was a coon. I have since trapped and dispatched several coons and a couple possums. While many prefer to keep their birds completely enclosed to prevent predator attacks I like to let mine free range and take out the predators before they become a major problem.

Your only other option is to completely enclose your coop and run and not let your birds free range.

I live in Vicksburg Mississippi, there are 6 dogs, 2 of them are my neighbors hunting dogs, 1 is really nice but still hassles my birds, and the other 3 don’t have collars and are always wandering in my neighborhood causing issues. My run is pretty enclosed and I’ve only been free ranging them when I’m outside, I have had coon problems too, but my neighbor, (he owns a hunting grounds behind our house) killed tons of raccoons, possums, foxes and coyotes last year, and we haven’t had a problem with them sense, but one of my ducks got murdered, she was hatching 21 eggs in a bush, and all the eggs were gone except 1, which is in the incubator, and I don’t know what killed her, but it left a trail of feathers going into the woods.

 

[McChooky]

Sooner or later one of these dogs is going to kill your chickens if you don't put a fence up. Preventing an attack may be your only option.
Most cities and counties have dog ordinances they're required to enforce once reported

 

[JAMarlow]

I would suggest talking to the neighbors that the identifiable dogs belong to. Let them know what is happening, that there is a pack mentality happening, and you are going to have to do something drastic about the other dogs. And maybe say something like, "I wouldn't want anything to happen to your dogs when I start dealing with this problem."

And then it's time to do something. If you are in an area where you can't shoot the dogs yourself, then get animal control involved. The dogs won't stop. They are obviously brazen about their activity. They will try to get into your coop and run. If they are causing problems for you, then they are causing problems for others.

Also, if you able to get video of a dog with an owner attacking your animals, you can go after them for medical treatment or animal replacement. It's horrible that some dog owners are so irresponsible to allow their dogs to run wild.

 

[BlackHenCoop]

Thank you all for the suggestions, I’m getting the situation handled.

 

[JAMarlow]

Thank you all for the suggestions, I’m getting the situation handled.

I hope you can get it solved! Let us know how it turns out, if you can.

 

[triciayoung]

I agree with @McChooky. You can talk to everyone, but the only person that can stop the attacks is you by putting up a fence