Stopping the Killing

[tarajane]

How in the love of God do you stop the killing of your chickens and all the other animals you hold dear to your heart ???There has to be a way but I will not get any chickens before I know I have built THE Ft. Knox of all pens. I could not stand the thought of something or someone killing my animals. Thank you

 

[nchls school]

How in the love of God do you stop the killing of your chickens and all the other animals you hold dear to your heart ???There has to be a way but I will not get any chickens before I know I have built THE Ft. Knox of all pens.  I could not stand the thought of something or someone killing my animals.  Thank you

It is impossible to stop all that might happen. I hate the old saying, "death is a part of life", but it is true. We can only provide the best that we can and pray/hope that all goes well. And enjoy the life around us while we can.

 

[coleco]

You can go to the extreme to prevent the killing but there is a point where you will have to ponder "Are they really living?" Being the owner of happy chickens will at times indeed require even you yourself to kill them at which point the normal reaction is to abandon the fears of their deaths and work towards improving their lives.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Stuff happens. This is true reguardless of how well you plan and build. Better that you view chicken keeping as a learning experience where sometimes you win and sometimes the varmints win. No one who has kept many chickens for a long time can honestly say, "I never lost a chicken to a predator."

 

[Toddrick]

If you staple hardware cloth over every opening in your coop, then that's about the best you can do. You can put up an electric fence if you want, but a simple solar spot light is probably enough to keep most predators away.

 

[FridayYet]

Don't forget to dig the hardware cloth 18 inches down in the ground or surround the place with an apron out 2 feet or so to stop digging.

 

[JanetS]

Since owning chickens, I have found that dealing with predators is the hardest issue. We have very serious problems with bobcats in our area. My husband built an awesome coop and run. We have had no losses(knocking on wood) as long as the chickens are in their pen. The bobcats still try to get them(day or night) but they are safe. We are currently putting up an electric fence to keep them out of our yard. We won't let the predators win.

 

[thomasboyle]

Sorry for your losses, they are frustrating, especially if you don't know what is doing the killing.

Are your chickens being killed while in the coop? The run? Or out in the yard? A secure setup should rely on multiple levels of defense. I have my chickens in a 1/2 acre yard that is surrounded by 4' high electric net fence. This is the strongest deterrent, and keeps most land predators at bay. Inside the yard are a very large apple and pear tree, so 70% of the area is underneath their branches, and this helps protect them from flying predators. I don't let them out into the yard all day, every day, but mix it up based on weather and my schedule. Most of the time they are out in the evenings, but on weekends it could be the mornings or afternoons. Mixing it up will make sure there is not a food supply outside every time a predator comes by. Then I have a 15x15 covered run. The roof is aluminum panels, and the sides are 2"x4" field fence on the outside of the 2x4 construction to keep out large predators, and 1/2" hardware wire fencing on the inside to keep out small predators. Then the coop is inside a 12x16 shed which has plywood outer and inner walls, and double pop doors - one on the outside and another one 3" later on the inside. Finally, I have a good rooster. He is the active warning system, and I have seen him sound the alert right before a predator comes or flies by. When I first started raising chickens and ducks, I was losing 1-2 birds a month. For the past 3 years, after re-working my coop, run and yard many times, and adding all of the above, I have not had a loss to predators. They are still out there. I have 3 trail cameras within 200 feet of my chickens and ducks, and I see them all the time - in the past 30 days I have pictures of bear, bobcat, coyotes, raccoons and oppossums, but they quickly decide there are easier places to hunt.

If you want to do 1 thing to protect your flock, I would go with the electric net fence around the yard area. That made the biggest difference in protecting my flock. Good luck!

 

[coleco]

OP didn't have or lose chickens, OP was asking how do you 100% prevent the killing.

 

[tjo804]

This seems to work.
But I don't recommend it.

edited cuz pic wouldnt come through