yeye5
Songster
Thank you to those who created and moderate this part of the forum.
In one pen of my total 3 (the only one without lighting at night) I've had sporadic attacks in the past, solved by simply re-enforcing the "weak points" and deterring further issue. A friend had helped me and pointed out what were in fact raccoon paw prints in one area.
During the past approx 2-3 weeks I've had repeated problems in that same area. Night pen/enclosure is made of wood frame with hardware cloth walls and roof (roof is covered in addition to the hardware cloth). It has heavy logs surrounding the perimeter, chicken wire around the bottom, and roosting areas off the ground.
The first recent attack killed my OE. I thought I'd re-enforced More than sufficiently. Some days later, it happened again.
I had, in that area, a very feisty tough rooster and he did well keeping things safe. During one of the attacks, a hen was killed and although I saw a small amount of this rooster's feathers, the rooster vanished (only time a body wasn't found) and has neither been found dead nor returned.
Problems I see with the area are lack of motion sensor lights and distance to the house. Both other pens have electricity/lighting available and are closer to the front of my house.
While a solution could be to run electric out there, it surely isn't something I can do immediately. I also doubt if that alone could break the pattern.
Today (2 killed last night) I moved several of the hens (that I perceive more vulnerable) to the front. There is no room really for them no less the rest of the roosters and hens housed in the problem area.
That is my problem and I'm in search of as many ideas and options for solving this already bad predator problem.
Thank you any and all in advance.
In one pen of my total 3 (the only one without lighting at night) I've had sporadic attacks in the past, solved by simply re-enforcing the "weak points" and deterring further issue. A friend had helped me and pointed out what were in fact raccoon paw prints in one area.
During the past approx 2-3 weeks I've had repeated problems in that same area. Night pen/enclosure is made of wood frame with hardware cloth walls and roof (roof is covered in addition to the hardware cloth). It has heavy logs surrounding the perimeter, chicken wire around the bottom, and roosting areas off the ground.
The first recent attack killed my OE. I thought I'd re-enforced More than sufficiently. Some days later, it happened again.
I had, in that area, a very feisty tough rooster and he did well keeping things safe. During one of the attacks, a hen was killed and although I saw a small amount of this rooster's feathers, the rooster vanished (only time a body wasn't found) and has neither been found dead nor returned.
Problems I see with the area are lack of motion sensor lights and distance to the house. Both other pens have electricity/lighting available and are closer to the front of my house.
While a solution could be to run electric out there, it surely isn't something I can do immediately. I also doubt if that alone could break the pattern.
Today (2 killed last night) I moved several of the hens (that I perceive more vulnerable) to the front. There is no room really for them no less the rest of the roosters and hens housed in the problem area.
That is my problem and I'm in search of as many ideas and options for solving this already bad predator problem.
Thank you any and all in advance.
