Preditors killing my chickens

[Chickens best friend 2]

Hi
Asalamulaikum
To everyone
I would like to know what can i do for preditors attacking my chickens during the night besides make my cage preditor proof(meaning totally closed)
Is there anything i can put to chase them away

 

[nuthatched]

What type of predators are you troubled with? Making sure all gaps or cracks in your chicken house are covered with hardware cloth or stucco lath will keep out larger things bigger than rats.

 

[mowin]

Hi
Asalamulaikum
To everyone
I would like to know what can i do for preditors attacking my chickens during the night besides make my cage preditor proof(meaning totally closed)
Is there anything i can put to chase them away

If you don't want to make your coop totally predator proof, it's going to be difficult.

 

[bobbi-j]

Pictures of your setup would be helpful, as would a general idea of where you live and what are some of the common predators in your area. The short simple answer is, if you don’t want your chickens killed at night, make sure they are in an enclosed coop.

 

[bruceha2000]

Yep, if you don't make it predator proof, you WILL lose chickens.

Common night predators are foxes, raccoons, weasel family. But don't count on the "night" part, coons and foxes can be out during the day as well. I had a fox come into my fenced area (better fenced now!!!) just as I was coming out of the barn about 3 PM in the summer. If I hadn't been coming out just then I would have lost a hen. Those foxes are FAST!

And I found a coon going into the coop in the barn about the same time of day a different time. That one got a free one way trip to the woods, it had already gotten into the barn (I think through a woodchuck tunnel) the night before and killed a hen it tried to kill the night before. That hen had been missing for a week or more, turned out she was broody (non fertile eggs) outside of the fenced area back when we let them range. Heard her screaming at 3 AM, ran out, coon was up the tree. I stupidly put the hen in a not quite predator proof stall since I didn't want her to go do a broody sleep in the nest boxes in the coop. BIG MISTAKE.

 

[Sara S]

Locks, motions sensor lights ( although raccoons don’t care for those). Do you have pictures of your coop/run? Can anything dig under or get in through the wires? What kind of wire do u use?

 

[50-45-1]

i just heard them one night going crazy and the next day one head was off and back was ripped open and gone and two others where just lying dead

The first and best nighttime protection is a secure tightly closed coop. Why are you unable to work towards that?
Second, when you hear chickens in distress, go now!! Dont wait until morning to go look.
identify first what kind of preditor would are dealing with. But with an open coop, its like an open invite to every preditor in your area.
What is your area by the way? USA?
How about a guardian dog?

 

[The Moonshiner]

It is totally preditor proof but when im not home for long periods their coop gate is open so they can free range

Automatic coop door

 

[CanadaEh]

preditors attacking my chickens during the night besides make my cage preditor proof(meaning totally closed)
Is there anything i can put to chase them away

electric fencing. Once shocked, the predator will not get even close to your chickens instead of keep testing how to get in.

 

[The Moonshiner]

One person with two accounts and forgot which account they were on.