Preditor in sight; to free range or not.

[boskelli1571]

Do you have the luxury of being able to get a 'guard-dog'? That would keep predators at bay. We have been fortunate with our Beagles. They are scared of the chickens, but the predators are scared of them! Otherwise, supervised free-range as already mentioned. Sue

 

[tkodad]

Unfortunately everyone loves chicken !
Here in the white mountains of New Hampshire
We have it all bears being the worst ! They will
Peel the roof of a coop drop their cubs in and well
A feeling of horror in the morning ....... Clean up
And start all over but with that aside some of the things
I try may help 1st a radio the sound of people helps
2 believe it or not a scare crow must have some sort
Moving part ! 3 grandpa's hunting rifle
If solitary confinement for your girls is as
Horrible for you as me then free range but keep
In mind if you have chickens you will lose some
From what I found you have a giant billboard
( FREE DINNER FOR WILDLIFE)!

 

[PaisyQ]

Do you have the luxury of being able to get a 'guard-dog'? That would keep predators at bay. We have been fortunate with our Beagles. They are scared of the chickens, but the predators are scared of them! Otherwise, supervised free-range as already mentioned. Sue

It's a thought for the future. I'm not sure I'm ready to take on the care of a dog right now. Had them as a child, and always found them very needy... don't know if a guard dog would be different.

This is why we built a huge fenced in run for our chickies. We have all kinds of predators, and in our fields ravens, owls, and raptors are out hunting in our fields for any the small animals my cats don't catch. There is just no way we'd let them free range, but I hope we have given them enough space to do some forage. The coop is under a canopy of large 40-60ft maple trees so the run is covered. The birds don't seem to see them under that, but there are still foxes, coyotes, and even one of our own cats (the only loss we've was because of her) on the ground.

Maybe in future years, it won't be as upsetting to lose one (or more) and we'll let them roam (we keep that particular cat in the house while the chickies are in their run), but for now I feel like I made a personal promise to care for them and allowing them to fall prey to the food chain earlier than necessary makes no sense to me.

Good luck to you.

It's always been the plan to put up a larger fenced in area; I just jumped the gun a little on acquiring the chickens. And I didn't realize how much happier they would be outside their enclosed run. Ah, well. Going to start pricing fence materials today. maybe I can get something smaller set up for now.
Maybe when I quit naming the birds the idea of losing one won't seem so traumatic. And of course, when I have more than the three I have now, it won't be as severe. But I don't want to lose any of them now.

 

[Apdeb]

I think the premier electric fence is about $170
You could move it around for them
Im using some old chain link panels from a construction job with landscaping tarp fastened on top so no hawks coming down
You could make a hoop house covered in wire. I think these are fastest cheapest way
Pm pathfinders she has a "plan" for hoop house you can move around

 

[aart]

I am a little north of South Haven.

So close to the Lake...I'm just south of SH but inland 15 miles...lots of hawks but no eagles. Eagles are primarily fish eaters, not that they wouldn't take a chook.
Good Luck!

 

[abcr]

I live near some woods so i have to be careful and watch out for foxes and my dog hehe well good luck

 

[ellend]

I'm right in a large city, not even near the edges, and I've lost two to a Cooper's hawk, and thwarted another attack mid-air (she had my FayeRay in her talons!) We have a 6' wood privacy fence and two dogs that go in and out. The months when the migratory birds are gone are the most dangerous for us. There is no safety without overhead protection. How about an inexpensive wood and poultry wire pull-around tractor (I still haven't built one) until you can do something more substantial?

Having a long-handled net to wave while you shoo your girls back to safety when you spot a raptor is a help. Makes you look really big and threatening.

If you don't hear birds chirping in your yard, assume there is a predator. Our sparrows go silent when there is a hawk around. We have Coopers and Red-Tails. We do let the girls out with us in summer, but the colder months are going to involve a tractor.

 

[PaisyQ]

I think the premier electric fence is about $170
You could move it around for them
Im using some old chain link panels from a construction job with landscaping tarp fastened on top so no hawks coming down
You could make a hoop house covered in wire. I think these are fastest cheapest way
Pm pathfinders she has a "plan" for hoop house you can move around

I've thought about an electric fence, but worry about it shorting out? I'm not home all the time to be able to be sure it's working properly. I do like the idea of a portable fence though. I'll pm pathfinders.

So close to the Lake...I'm just south of SH but inland 15 miles...lots of hawks but no eagles. Eagles are primarily fish eaters, not that they wouldn't take a chook.
Good Luck!

Yeah, I'm 5 miles from the lake. My mother has a friend with property that shares beach rights with 2 other families. Very nice way to enjoy the lake. Though the path down is steep. My sister-in-law wouldn't let the kids use it until they turned 10 years old.

I'm right in a large city, not even near the edges, and I've lost two to a Cooper's hawk, and thwarted another attack mid-air (she had my FayeRay in her talons!) We have a 6' wood privacy fence and two dogs that go in and out. The months when the migratory birds are gone are the most dangerous for us. There is no safety without overhead protection. How about an inexpensive wood and poultry wire pull-around tractor (I still haven't built one) until you can do something more substantial?

Having a long-handled net to wave while you shoo your girls back to safety when you spot a raptor is a help. Makes you look really big and threatening.

If you don't hear birds chirping in your yard, assume there is a predator. Our sparrows go silent when there is a hawk around. We have Coopers and Red-Tails. We do let the girls out with us in summer, but the colder months are going to involve a tractor.

Thanks for the advise. We were out again yesterday for an hour. No sign of the eagle, thankfully. Tried listening for birds chirping; all I heard was crickets. Do they count?

I had a temporary, completely non-preditor proof fence I put up around the run while I was training the girls for free ranging. I've strung bird netting up over that now, and got it completely enclosed that way. Do you think that will deter the arial preditors? They won't be out in the fence if I'm not home, but I can't stand having them cooped up in that run all the time. Priced the fence I want to put up, and that is just going to have to wait until spring. I can't swing it now.