Tell How Predators Got Your Chickens. Save Somebody Else From The Bad Experience

[GoldDogsMom]

I purchased a prebuilt coop from the Amish and it had a regular window on 1 side...I never gave it a second thought until a weasel ripped through the screen and killed 2 of my hens. Make sure EVERY opening of 1/2 inch or more is securely covered with hardware wire!

 

[CountryKitty]

When useing hook and eye type latches for windows and doors, use the type that has a little spring loaded latch built in. Racoons have opposable thumbs and the simple ones are easy for them to undo but the spring latch type requires them to pull back and lift up at them same time--hard to to if the latches are high enough that the 'coonie has to climb up and cling to the side of the coop while fiddling one-handed with the latch. I have 2 of these on the ground level hen-sized hatch and nothing has ever figured out how to open it.

On the subject of dogs, I had one that couldn't be broke from killing poultry. A neighbor's hen had gotten in with him when I wasn't home to control his intro to birds (a stray cat or dog could get into the yard and he would harass but not harm it even when PO'd at it due to DH and I teaching him what we expected). Our next dog got trained from an early age, with controlled introductions to birds in my arms and with both teenage kids helping me to enforce the rules.

Keep your feed containers covered too. I got lax with this and now have a rat issue--lost at least one if not several banty chicks to the little B@$t@rds. They live under the coop and a nearby shed and I don't dare poison them for fear of poisoning my dog, cats and birds. Prevention is best--tin trash can with snug lid to hold the grain.

 

[okallthis4eggs]

Countrykitty you can get a live catch trap for the rats and bait it with peanut butter and wipe out that rat poplation pretty quick. Set it every time you see a rat. To kill them drop the trap and all into a trash can full of water. They will die quick. To me its more humane than a slow death by poison and much safer

 

[CountryKitty]

Thanks, I have snap traps set up--I put them out after the birds are in for the evening. Used to put them in cardboard boxes with rat-sized holes in the corners--that allowed rats to get in and get dead without risk of the birds pecking at the bait and having their necks broke. Worked fine til I got chicks.

The current issue is that I work nights 3 or 4 nights a week and leave before the birds are put up by my family, so the traps aren't set out like I would like.

I'm getting them rooted out, with help from a pair of cats (had to teach the elder to hunt, and now she's teaching the younger the joys of rodent crunching). Just wanted to warn others before they wound up with the same issue.

 

[harveyhorses]

I have a chain link run, covered with hardware cloth/chicken with and tarps, the bottom is lined with hardware cloth and surrounded by electric fence. Look at your set up and think like a predator. I have a little bit of everything here, Hawks, owls raccoons, fox, coyotes,
What would a coon do to get to my chickens? A hawk? Weasel? So many people say "w e don't have predators" but that was before you opened the buffet.
Mine get free range only if we are out with them. but their run is large and safe. The coop is completely enclosed inside it.

 

[Oregon Blues]

Crows killed two of my 3 pound chicks. That's the only predator loss I have had.(touch wood)

 

[okallthis4eggs]

Thats good information harveyhorses. Some people take too much for granted and don't understand what a predator will go thru for a chicken dinner

 

[prettychicks]

Good advice wildriverwolf. Or use hardware cloth on everything. A coon will chew thru chicken wire too and he will climb up the side to do it. Some folks use a electric fence around the chicken wire for added protection. Without it I think your a sitting duck (chicken) depending solely on the chicken wire

Snakes also get through chicken wire and eat eggs and smaller chicks. I had one try to eat a 4 month old guinea only to kill it and spit it out because it was too big. That was years ago but now I use Chainlink covered with hardware cloth. I have tried my best to protect my chickens and so far so good. I lock them in the coop at night which is also made of wood and hardware cloth. Something is going to have to work really hard to get into my coop now.

 

[EeyoreD]

Another lesson I learned the hard way this weekend was that you can have an absolute Fort Knox of a coop... but it won't be worth anything if you haven't put the same effort into the flooring/ground protection. If you have a dirt floor its especially important.

I had a hardware cloth apron extending out 2-4 feet laid on the ground and staked down around the entire perimeter. The night a coon (or several) got in and killed 11 of my 16 chickens they tested out several places before they found a weak spot they were able to dig in. (it wasn't close enough/secured to the coop in that spot and they were able to pull it back more and dig).

Now I have 1500 pounds of cement block on top of the cloth, right up next to the coop in two rows all around. I'm charging a solar charger for an electric fence that I'll put a couple of wires up at two heights around the coop. And I'm also performing a vigorous trapping regimen.

I don't know if this is true or not, but after my hard lesson I've decided that one solution or fix isn't enough to make me comfortable. So I'm instituting multiple tactics as several lines of defense.

 

[Nslangton]

Growing up we lost several flocks of chickens. It is very traumatizing as a child to go to collect eggs and find all of your hens dead. The predators were weasels. They can fit through a tiny hole. It took me 25 years to get over my anxiety and get some chickens. We live on mink road and have mink run creek behind us. They are cute, but they are also relentless killers. Our house is also in the middle of a state park that has every other predator known to man. My neighbors loose their chickens all of the time. Hawks, fox, coons, snakes, coyotes, etc. Chicken wire is useless against predators. They can rip it open like it's paper. We built the coop and run with every predator in mind. We dug trenches around the perimeter of the run. Burried hardware cloth about 2 feet deep and covered with a foot of modified stone. The run is samwiched in between two buildings, a paved driveway and concrete walk. It would be difficult for something to dig in. If they would mannage to dig under the drive, walk, or building, they will run into the Burried hardware cloth. The entire run is covered in hardware cloth including the roof. The door to the run has three latches (2 different kinds) for any smart coons. The coop has an automatic metal door that goes up in the morning and down at night. Coop is inside a building with tile floors and walls that are over a foot thick. That is also covered in hardware cloth in case something could get in the building. We keep the food in the coop so we don't attract any animals with spilled feed. So far so good. I check the run daily for any signs of a predator. Yesterday there were 2 huge hawks checking out my girls. They killed my neighbors rooster and hens last week and are looking for more. A fox just got all of another neighbors out free ranging in broad daylight. I don't want to relive the horror so my girls are locked up tight.