Suburban warning

[JennsPeeps]

I live in a city with a population above 200,000. The nearest greenbelt is about a mile or more away. We have:
* possums (neighbors saw 2 in our yard just a week ago)
* raccoons (I've seen them around)
* stray dogs (our cat was attacked by one a few years ago in our own backyard)
* bald eagle (saw one a mile away a few weeks ago)
* cooper's hawk (saw one the same week I saw the eagle)
* coyotes (saw one dead on the side of the road recently)

Don't think for a SECOND that the suburbs isolate you from predators. We lock up our chickens without fail, every night. On nights we're out after dark (parties, ball games, dinner, etc.), we have our neighbors on speed dial and they lock up the chickens for us.

 

[crait]

Chickens will never be completely safe until they are all inside our houses!

 

[CityChook]

I'm in the city and there is certainly no shortage of beasties. Maybe because there aren't as many predators for them? The worst part is that many, like raccoons, are bold, not afraid of people AT ALL and they're BIG. No matter what, I lock (with a keyed lock) up the girls every night.

 

[Ladyhawke1]

A couple of months ago, I had a hundred pound Akita squeeze through a closed gate and it hit my sliding glass door.

It was three o’clock in the morning and he was attacking my cat. The cat was in the house sitting behind the curtain looking outside. I had no chickens at that time.

I have to leave the gate unlatched for the gas and electric people. The electric company worked with me to get the reading taken from the “street” so that no one has to go through the gate.

However, the gas company will only move the whole meter and just charge me $150.00.

The electric company did not charge me anything.

I called the gas company yesterday and found out that he, the meter guy who peed on my fence, is NOT reading the meter and I am getting a refund. The meter readings did not match.

 

[Ms~Silkie~Girl]

Quote:
Haha! Ur so right!!!!

 

[RGEISENDORF]

Several times I have walked outside to find a bald eagle looking under our motorhome with all my girls trapped under it. Yep he just walks down the driveway... the old guy I bought our house from said he used to shoot at the bald eagles (yes, I know, bad) he said he wasn't going to hit them, he was just trying to keep them away from his chickens... yep he loves chickens too! We have several bald eagles who sit in the trees right above our house. The older girls stay under the trees but the younger don't know better. I stand outside and yell at the eagles to go away and they just look at me (about 30 feet away) I think they know they are protected.

 

[Attack Chicken]

We have railroad tracks down the street from us. I know coyotes run that track and we have seen raccoons, possums, and plenty of stray dogs and cats here. My bantam mob can take over a cat though. Can't forget about the Coopers hawk and Red-tail!

 

[Sitka]

I live in suburban Seattle and we have many possums and HUGE coons. Have also seen hawks in our yard and saw a road-killed fox not long ago at the side of the interstate. One nice thing about this area, though, is that there are virtually no snakes here.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

A lot of predators that prey on chickens are the type that will do anything for an easy meal -- and humans (and their garbage, which means urban/suburban areas) mean easy meals.

Coons, skunks, possums, rats, foxes...even coyotes and loose dogs... They all live in cities and would love to get into your coop.

 

[Redhead Hen]

My Mom lives a few miles out of Baltimore, but inside the beltway. There are fox in her neighborhood!!! Her neighbor had pictures of a mother and a pup or two! Oh and of course hawks! My Mom is almost afraid to feed the birds because she is feed the hawks too!

Wildlife can make a niche almost anyplace. Just because someone lives in the City or Suburbia, does not mean they are free of the same varmints us country folk deal with!