Here in Florida, we don't really have a winter. There are fat squirrels hanging around my fenced wooded area. Do you think they are sneaking in the coop and eating medicated feed? Do you suppose my two adult hens are laying and the furry rodents are making off with the eggs? I work full time, so I can't check at all times of the day for eggs. What are your thoughts on this subject?
squirrels will eat, steal and tear up everything they can get into. They are wasteful and leave fleas everywhere they go.
Are your chickens free ranging or in a run/coop? If they are in the coop during the day, make the coop as predator proof as you can. We have squirrels also but they can't get into the coop where the food and eggs are. So I have no problem with them. The coop has the 1 inch hardware cloth. Mary
If you want to make sure they are not getting anything, i can walk you through a easy trap set up. Mission accomplished yesterday @ a residence with 2 red squirrels.I guess thats my only option
I forgot to turn on my electric fence yesterday after the morning feeding and later walked out to discover the biggest, fattest gray squirrel sitting in my feed dishes with all my ducks and geese standing in a ring around him watching him eat. We don't even have gray squirrels! They are city dwellers. The birds got a scolding about talking to strangers.
Sounds like yours free-range while you are gone with coop open? I think you need a run to secure them during your absence. They can free-range while you are home. Your situation could progress to a tragedy that you would return to one day.
Thanks all for the advice. Zac, I don't think I can trap squirrels - there are way more of them - I am surrounded by woods (very nice) and the wild critters are in abundance! My chickens have a totally enclosed area adjacent to the coop. It has a buried fence and a fence over top. Next to that is about 40' by 40' fenced wooded area. During the day, they can go in and out of the coop and into the wooded area. At night they are confined to the more secure area. We have an eagle nest nearby and when my DH saw her out earlier, he went down to check on the girls. All were okay. When we fenced the wooded area, we tossed all the brush into it so our girls have lots of hidey holes.
I don't like squirrels at all I keep my area enclosed so I haven't had a problem, but they can be very brave and even eat your dogs food when noone is around. Some neighbors have had issues with them getting into attics and such they have caught a few using a live trap with peanut butter as bait.
I had squirrels trying to chew through the lid on the feed barrel; we use a plastic trash barrel. Went to the garden picked a few Cayenne peppers and rubbed them on the place they were chewing. Squirrels only came back once; last time I saw them they were headed toward the creek.:
