PhoenixBantam, I'm so sorry for the loss of your new friend
Around here we do have a lot of hawks that prey during the day. They seem to favor the weak or injured, all chicks, and the less-wary crested breeds like polish & silkies. You'll want either a covered run, or to provide a lot of hiding places (things for the birds to run under like tables or boards up on bricks), or hang shiny things like CDs, pinwheels & wind catchers, or get roosters.
We also have an over-abundance of raccoons & opossums. I was told at the Okeeheelee Nature Center that their populations have actually increased here due to development. Their predators have been scared away, and they're left here safe & with a bountiful supply of food available from human habitation -- garbage cans, pet food dishes, fruit trees, & litter. Therefore a lot of folks don't feel bad about getting rid of the ones that prey in their yards.
Our Animal Control charges $20 apiece for trapped raccoons you bring in to them. During a recent rabies outbreak they waived that fee, but as far as I know it's back in effect. They won't come out to pick them up unless it's in a trap you rented from them. And if you're caught releasing one you can be fined $500.
Many folks quietly shoot them right in the trap, others lower the trap into a barrel or pond of water. Folks who drown them say to fill the container with water first, then it only takes a minute fully underwater for them to go, and they don't think that's too cruel. They say to secure the trap doors with zip ties or wires -- carefully, without making your fingers accessible to the trapped animal. Sometimes those doors can be worked loose and the critter can get out. You should also be able to tie a rope to the trap without getting bit or scratched.
While you're getting acquainted with your new neighbors, ask them to help reduce temptation to passing raccoons & opossums by keeping their garbage cans covered/bungee-corded and by not leaving dishes of dog/cat food out overnight.
I pray for wisdom for you in designing your coops and safety for your feathered friends.
Around here we do have a lot of hawks that prey during the day. They seem to favor the weak or injured, all chicks, and the less-wary crested breeds like polish & silkies. You'll want either a covered run, or to provide a lot of hiding places (things for the birds to run under like tables or boards up on bricks), or hang shiny things like CDs, pinwheels & wind catchers, or get roosters.
We also have an over-abundance of raccoons & opossums. I was told at the Okeeheelee Nature Center that their populations have actually increased here due to development. Their predators have been scared away, and they're left here safe & with a bountiful supply of food available from human habitation -- garbage cans, pet food dishes, fruit trees, & litter. Therefore a lot of folks don't feel bad about getting rid of the ones that prey in their yards.
Our Animal Control charges $20 apiece for trapped raccoons you bring in to them. During a recent rabies outbreak they waived that fee, but as far as I know it's back in effect. They won't come out to pick them up unless it's in a trap you rented from them. And if you're caught releasing one you can be fined $500.
Many folks quietly shoot them right in the trap, others lower the trap into a barrel or pond of water. Folks who drown them say to fill the container with water first, then it only takes a minute fully underwater for them to go, and they don't think that's too cruel. They say to secure the trap doors with zip ties or wires -- carefully, without making your fingers accessible to the trapped animal. Sometimes those doors can be worked loose and the critter can get out. You should also be able to tie a rope to the trap without getting bit or scratched.
While you're getting acquainted with your new neighbors, ask them to help reduce temptation to passing raccoons & opossums by keeping their garbage cans covered/bungee-corded and by not leaving dishes of dog/cat food out overnight.
I pray for wisdom for you in designing your coops and safety for your feathered friends.
