Safety tips Please

ChickenSaly

In the Brooder
Jul 31, 2021
7
20
26
the other day my neighbor let me know a fox had just grabbed one of his many girls! he has a huge run, electrified fencing (apparently wasn't on) it happened midday! I was under the delusion that they're pretty safe during the day! very sad, I haven't let my girls out to free range since.
 

Isadora

Sugar and spice and everything nice 🛸 🏴‍☠️
Premium Feather Member
Mar 29, 2021
23,300
128,167
1,396
Indiana
Free range chickens are fair game, day or night. My birds free range and yesterday a coyote showed up at 11:00 a.m. and tried to grab one. Thankfully I was close by and scared him off, but if I wasn't around he would have succeeded.
 

cmom

Hilltop Farm
Premium Feather Member
15 Years
Nov 18, 2007
31,527
35,487
991
Florida
My Coop
My Coop
:welcome :frow Most predators hunt at night but some will also come out during the day. Free ranging is a risk. Sooner or later a predator will grab a bird. I've had it happen so now my birds stay in their nice large covered pens. I also have electric wires around my coops and pens and concrete under the gates as well as all of the pens covered with good heavy duty netting. I have a very powerful fence charger so anything that touches my wires will hurt. I want them to hurt so they won't test them again. I think the adult predators teach their young that a bird isn't worth getting zapped for. Some predators will jump over a fence especially if it's not that high. All of my fences are 5' high. I once had a coyote go over the fence into a pen. It also went back out as well as some of the birds. I lost a few birds that day. Good luck...
http://www.poultrydvm.com/featured-infographic/tips-for-protecting-poultry-from-predators
 

ChickensComeHome2Roost

Free Ranging
Nov 11, 2020
4,030
6,585
506
West Virginia
the other day my neighbor let me know a fox had just grabbed one of his many girls! he has a huge run, electrified fencing (apparently wasn't on) it happened midday! I was under the delusion that they're pretty safe during the day! very sad, I haven't let my girls out to free range since.
If you're not going to put your chickens in a secure pen you should consider having a guardian dog stay with your chickens 24/7. It'll safe you a lot of grief and money in the long run. You need a fence around your property for chickens with an electric fence around it.Hope this helps! Most people who free range know losing chickens comes with the territory but there are many things you can do to improve the odds of them surviving.The type of chickens has a lot to do with it.You should avoid free ranging chickens with feathers that hide their faces as they can't see well enough to avoid predators.
 

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