Protecting free ranging birds from predators?

[Andora]

We're (hopefully) moving to a little more than an acre of land in the country soon. My chickens have always ranged in a large open pen in my backyard. I plan to set up the same thing at our hew house. The pen is regular wire farm fencing with metal poles. (They also have two predator proof coops that I locked them in at dusk.)

What can I do to protect them once we're living in the country? I have several roosters, and my dogs will be outside with them some. Since they'll be fenced in, will things like foxes still try to snag them during the daylight hours? Or will that deter them somewhat? Our house has a neighbor on one side, and then the other two sides of the backyard are a horse farm. Across the street there's a wooded area and a large cattle farm.

We have hawks where we live right now, and they have swooped down several times. My birds always run and hide, except for the constantly confused crested ones.

Are they any other animals we can get to help keep them safe? Like guineas, or maybe peacocks?

I'd like you're thoughts!

 

[tackyrama]

Hello, one acre doesn't sound like a lot of space to free range chickens with neighbors so close. we have 20 acres and I worry about the chickens roaming to the neighbors. They have come close and they have big dogs. Fortunately they keep their dogs very tightly controled but if the birds go in their yard there is nothing I can do.

A chickens natural range is around 200 yards or so. Mine go to the limit. Geese make great watch (dogs). They raise a racket when something comes around. I don't know about peafowl for watchdog duty. I just know they can be extremely loud and annoying. fences are great but things like coons, possums, fox, etc. have a way of slipping through just about anything.

My best advice is get a real good rooster or two, depend more on your dogs. Train them more if you have to. Also make sure the coop is predator proof. We have over 75 chickens right now and have not lost any so far this summer and only one all last summer. Our coop is the fort knox of coops. Nothing gets in after we lock them in at night. You can take a look at how I built it if you like. It's all documented on my BYC pages. Good luck.

 

[popcornpuppy]

There are two things we have done in our rural backyard to keep our chickens safe and keep the preditors at bay. (And we have seen a fox a few times around our coop.)
#1. We put a scarecrow infront of the coop
#2. We have the dogs go to the bathroom all around the coop (but not where we walk) to claim and mark the teritory. We haven't seen the fox in a while.

The one other thing that I would like to look into is a night light that is solar powered. It shines 2 red lights that are suposed to look like eyes and scare off any preditors. Ideal Poultry and Mcmurray's both have them on their websites.

 

[wasatusay]

The one other thing that I would like to look into is a night light that is solar powered. It shines 2 red lights that are suposed to look like eyes and scare off any preditors. Ideal Poultry and Mcmurray's both have them on their websites.

I use regular hanging solar lights hanging on the fence along the back facing the woods. If you want the red lights it is cheaper to buy regular one lite (cheap) solar lights that have a common panel and get some tail light repair film. The ones they sell in the chicken catalogs are too expensive and do the same job..20 bucks vs...$$, do the math..​

 

[Andora]

I've never heard of red lights to deter predators. Hmm. I will definitely look into this! That would be just for night time though. I'm still considering what to do during the day. I also considered putting an electrical fence around their pen--that would definitely keep out predators on paws during the day and it doesn't look very expensive. But I'm kind of concerned about the chickens getting...fried.

I think my coops are pretty predator proof as they are--they are both wooden with floors up off the ground. They each have two windows with that nylon mesh screen and then hardwire cloth over top of that inside. Tackyrama, I'll take a look at what's on your BYC page!

 

[EAST TEXAROO]

I have a couple dozen chickens and I free range them all day. I live on 22 acres and my birds are never farther than 50 yards from the house. I have an old german shorthaired pointer that follows them around and have seen her run a yotie off 2 times. Kinda ironic my bird dog is actually protecting the birds Chickens are smarter than most give em credit for, they use to wonder father away and a hawk got 1 in the winter time and now they dont go far at all.

 

[briesberrypatch]

I have three acres, and when my hens free-ranged, they ranged the WHOLE three acres and sometimes even into the neighbor's land. I've heard that chickens only go 200 yards, but it hasn't been true of my flock. They are now confined to a large, fenced yard.

Predators are unique to each area. Personally, the only problem I've had is with hawks, and once a stray dog. Coyotes haven't bothered my chickens, though they do come near our property during the day sometimes. I don't have any problems with raccoons or foxes. My point is, you will need to evaluate your predator problems when you move to your new house.

My chickens range a very large fenced yard, and covering the whole chicken yard with netting is not an option. I read an old article that suggested running strands of fishing line above your chicken yard. The hawks can see it, and they won't fly between the lines. The article claimed that the hawks develop a memory, and after a while they will even stop hunting over the protected area, even if the line is no longer there. I placed each strand about 6 feet apart over most of the yard and it worked very well for me - no hawk problems even though I frequently saw the hawks sitting above my neighbors' chicken coops. The problem is that the line sags in the winter with the weight of snow, and you end up having to pick up nearly-invisible strands of fishing line in the spring. If you try this, I would recommend something sturdier and more visible to humans, like a thin rope of some sort.

I had hawk problems in my first winter here. I got two guineas the following spring and haven't lost a chicken since. One day last year I was sitting in the dining room, watching the flock from a window. Suddenly the guineas started screeching and the whole flock ran to the coop. A few seconds later I saw the shadow of a giant hawk fly over the chicken yard. Proof enough for me!

Guineas, especially the females, are extremely noisy. They can be challenging to train to stay home, and if they aren't sufficiently bonded to their coop, they will eventually fly away. It is absolutely essential that you get them as day-old keats. Do not buy juvenile or adult birds - they will not bond with your property! They do range quite far, though mine tend to stay with the chickens in the fenced yard now that the flock doesn't free-range.

I have a male and a female guinea. As I said, the female is extremely noisy, but the male can be a bully to my chickens and he is very protective of the female guinea. He will chase the chickens away from food or out of the coop if he wants to be there with his mate....They are definitely at the top of the pecking order. They male is quite noisy for about ten minutes at dusk when he is calling the hens to go into the coop (yes, he really does round them up, and he won't go inside or stop calling until everyone is in).

The benefits are that they do an excellent job of protecting the chickens, and they are great for insect control. We don't have a flea or tick problem to speak of on our property. We haven't put flea medicine on our dog or cats for two years, and even the barn cats don't have fleas or ticks. The summer that the flock free-ranged over our property, I didn't see a single Japanese beetle, either. That's quite a feat here!

As far as I'm concerned, the benefits of having guineas outweigh the negatives. I live on three acres in a rural area, but if your new property is in town, your neighbors will most likely complain about them.

I wouldn't be without my guineas. In fact, I'm planning on buying a few more in the spring. A book that I found to be very helpful was "Gardening with Guineas". It has great information for the beginner.

Laura