Squirrels?

[Beaker's Mom]

Are squirrels harmful to chickens? I have a (or some) squirrels I keep finding in the coop. For the life of me I can't figure out how they're getting in? They run out when I open the door with their cheeks full of chicken food! Do they eat eggs?

 

[Cindiloohoo]

We have a million sqirrels here..and that's barely an exaggeration

They don't bother our birds or their feed. Food must be scarce for them in your neck of the woods or they wouldn't be risking it to get the feed I wouldn't think. Have you tried setting out some squirrel feeders so they have their own food supply? We have lots of hickory nuts and acorns and such for them to eat. I have never seen them in the coop or getting feed.

 

[paddock36]

Someone told me they would steal eggs but I haven't seen them do that at my house so don't know if that's true or not.

 

[speckledhen]

One just started going into the cage above Zane's, inside Suede's coop, to eat food out of the bowl so he met his maker today. We probably have thousands of those rodents here. DH kills several a week when they get too familiar with the coops or our blueberry bushes. Dang things stripped 50 apples off one of my Fuji trees, the very first year it has borne fruit. Grrrr.

 

[Beaker's Mom]

They must know when DH is at work, because they're not around when he is.

 

[33yardbirds]

They empty the wild bird feeders and chew the plastic bottoms of my wifes humming bird feeders but haven't messed withe the chicken feed. They get the .22 Hollow Point treatment. My wife loves her humming birds.

 

[jgilliatt]

Our squirrels pounce on the feed bowl as soon as the chickens wonder off, so, of course, the bowl is empty when they come back. I think that it must be doubling my feed expense. They chewed through a rubber-made box I was storing feed in. They seem to becoming more and more bold, and I worry about possible aggressiveness, but, I can't seem to bring myself to killing any.

 

[Stevo]

I use a clay bird launcher. You know for lauching clay disks for target practice. Place launcher near coop or bird feeder.. Fill with feed. Put an extra long line on the launcher trigger and run it to your house. As squirrel hopes on to eat yell PULL and launch the little feed bandit into orbit lol. Not only wont they come back but the grandkids will be rollin on the floor.

 

[Catstar68]

Quote:

"hurl-a-squirrel"

 

[TNRIRRoo]

Quote:
I have always wanted to try this...