Protecting your chickens from predators in your backyard!

[sandhill garden]

After losing several free-ranging chickens one-by-one over several months to fox, hawk and stray dog, I found a 10'x10' kennel on Craigs list and set it up under the trees. Covered the top with reinforcement wire and bird netting, and the sides with bird netting. Now they (6 hens in the kennel, 3 in the coop) only go out for 90 min each day while I am out there with them doing chicken chores and yard work. I haven't lost any for the last year.

 

[Codynalli]

I have had a hawk pick up a bantam hen before! I went running after it and throwing rocks and sticks and it dropped her in the field! About a 20ft drop! but she was fine..Now I just scare them off. Im scared theyll eventually get the chicks, they cant even put up a fight.

This sound just like mine.
I am always watching the hens.
I have never lost one to predators. Thank the Lord.

 

[kg7il]

Coyote: Son shot one with an AR-15 while approaching the birds: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AR-15
Racoon: Dogs Sam and Annie holed them under a stump pile. Dispatched 6 of them with a Kimber Ultra Covert: http://www.kimberamerica.com/1911/covert-ii/ultra-covert-ii
Racoon: Dogs treed the escaping coon: 12 guage dropped him
Hawks, Eagles, Falcons get a break!

Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Turkeys and Goats
Glenn

 

[K-12 Chickens]

This sound just like mine.
I am always watching the hens.
I have never lost one to predators. Thank the Lord.

I have lost a hen due to reasons other than a predator and one to a hawk, but otherwise I think I'm pretty lucky not having to deal with foxes, bobcats, etc!

For some reason they aren't common even though I live in a rural area.

 

[Scifisarah]

Our collie has been a pretty good "predator preventer" for us. She's usually inside but I think the few times she's been let out to chew up some raccoon butts have stuck pretty well in their memories.

 

[therisingers]

We are planning to build a fortified chicken tractor so that nothing can get to them. Our main issue is neighbor dogs....And they aren't afraid of anything and they would kill our chickens if we let them "run" free.So we plan to "free" range them safely inside of their "tractor" during the days and inside of their coop at night....I have my bb gun close at hand if the dogs start trying to get to them during the day and since it's covered, no hawks....That alarm sounds good but want to know how much and not so sure it would work against my neighbor's dogs.

 

[bbossltd]

Just contacted the company thru their website with some questions. Not exactly sure how this will work in my neighborhood, where neighbors are very close (city backyard chickens..lol) My chicks are still in the brooder and i'm almost complete with their coop, but i'm so involved with protecting them against the many predators we have (raccoons, skunks, hawks, cats and dogs).

 

[elsasmom]

After a hawk buzzed my chicken yard, I hung these guys out; haven't seen a hawk since.

 

[Jbrandt000]

Fox and coon. Best protection a 22 rifle with a scope.

 

[QueenBeeMom]

We have coyotes, raccoons, skunks, foxes, and mostly a lot of rather irresponsible dog owners (free-range dogs? -ah no, folks), and hawks. We're in the middle of a 160,000+ city. Do we are not allowed to harm them (not my style anyway).
Despite the rocky ground, we installed 6 inch vent wire around the full pen.
After my hawk attack, I bought a fake owl. Seems to work.

Update: just a day after posting this, the hawk was back! This time my ladies came out unharmed, and not as shocked. A little meal worm treat and they are back to happy hen status. But what I have learned is that I should probably move my owl around more frequently!