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

[cheeka]

Was it a purpose built one ? and what did you use to put in the bath,? my girls just use dirt, but would like something better for them

actually, the chickens created it under a very large, low skirted blue spruce tree next to the coop and run. it's primarily dirt, and years and years of shed pine cones and needles that have mulched themselves. after a couple of weeks of them scratching and shifting it around, it became a very nice, soft communal dust bath. technically the "trays" i used are 2' long x 1' wide letter trays (shhh...) from the post office. they are made of a sort of corrugated plastic and they leak water, which is good bc if it rains sideways a bit, the dust bath will get wet, but it will either just dry out or drain out...
so the top 4"-5" of the dust bath was loose and i just crawled under and scooped it up into the bins... this is them in the original bath
it's blurry because they were actively bathing, the greens are lily of the valley, which appeared after i cleaned out the little woods years ago, bc i intended to put a picnic table in there... it looks prickly bc of all the needles, but it's really soft, the needles are quite old and crumble easily. they love it and never are sticky or "pitchy"

 

[marianne7]

actually, the chickens created it under a very large, low skirted blue spruce tree next to the coop and run. it's primarily dirt, and years and years of shed pine cones and needles that have mulched themselves. after a couple of weeks of them scratching and shifting it around, it became a very nice, soft communal dust bath. technically the "trays" i used are 2' long x 1' wide letter trays (shhh...) from the post office. they are made of a sort of corrugated plastic and they leak water, which is good bc if it rains sideways a bit, the dust bath will get wet, but it will either just dry out or drain out...
so the top 4"-5" of the dust bath was loose and i just crawled under and scooped it up into the bins... this is them in the original bath
it's blurry because they were actively bathing, the greens are lily of the valley, which appeared after i cleaned out the little woods years ago, bc i intended to put a picnic table in there... it looks prickly bc of all the needles, but it's really soft, the needles are quite old and crumble easily. they love it and never are sticky or "pitchy"

Brilliant idea, they seem to enjoy the ones they sort of make themselves......bet the Post office would'nt want the trays back now ha ha, thanks for the pic, they look like they are lovin it....need to get some sort of tray like that for my girls - Marianne

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

I use n old kitty litter pan in the broody pen inside,the chicks are usually in it bathing within two days, the selfdraining one sounds perfect for outside!

 

[marianne7]

I use n old kitty litter pan in the broody pen inside,the chicks are usually in it bathing within two days, the selfdraining one sounds perfect for outside!

what a great idea....I've got a couple of those in the house somewhere.....will have to look them out - thanks

 

[SistaChick]

I have read all these posts so that I can make my chicken tractor as predator proof as I possibly can. I lost my first bunch of chicks on July 25th. They were 8 weeks old. We think it was a pack of stray dogs running around the neighborhood. There were three of them in the yard the next morning at 4 am when my DH was going to work.

I was new at this and it didn't dawn on me that my chicks weren't safe. I loved them and would get a stool and just sit by the tractor and talk to them and watch them play so when I walked out the back door and saw them laying all over the place dead I burst into tears, I cried all day. The predators had torn the chicken wire away from the frame of the coop. Bottom line is we made it very easy for the kill without realizing it.

I had decided not to try again but others encouraged me to try again but to make the tractor predator proof. Of course a tractor is harder to predator proof than a large coop and run BUT I think I have figured out by reading here what is needed. This is my plan.

I have a set up now that the chickens will go up into the top part of the coop to sleep and will be shut in behind hinges with bolt holes and snaps to clip it and lock it.
I have put 16 gauge 1/2 by 1 inch hardware cloth around the yard part and I used chicken staples and doubled them up the boards so that only a dog on steriods can pull this one out.

My best and last thought: for keeping them from digging under to get in, I will be making a skirt but not just any skirt, I am building a long window type box frame to make it sturdy and add strands of barb wire through it. The frame itself will protect me when I need to raise this thing up and down. I will put it on the bottom outside boards of the tractor with hinges. I will latch the barb wire frames up when I need to move the tractor and then let them down to lay against the ground beside the tractor. In order for a predator to dig under the tractor it will have to dig through barb wire.

I am feeling more confident that I can keep my new babies safe.

 

[bruceha2000]

Good for you to build a fort knox. Make is strong and secure and keep your birds safe. Use the 1/2" X 1/2" hardware cloth in at least 19 gauge. You can get 16 gauge but its not necessary it is more expensive and harder to work with. The 19 gauge will keep out all the predators you mentioned. I got mine here. http://wireclothman.com/about_wire_cloth_manufacturers.html

Looks like a good source. With shipping to VT, about the same price for 36"x100' as Amazon (free shipping). I got lucky, it was $15 cheaper back in May, only $90. I would have gone for 48" wide but 36" was all Amazon had. Still, Amazon had much longer lengths than anything local.

Wireclothman also has larger widths, up to 5'. That would be great. You can build a run with 8' walls including a 2' underground "curtain" of wire continuous up the wall 3' then one 5' course above that. Less work than multiple courses of narrower wire and only one 'seam' well above ground. You would need to add "curtain" wire at the corners since there will be an open triangle as you wrap the 90 degrees on the corner posts. Oh yeah, and a helper. A 100' roll of 5' 1/2" hardware cloth is seriously HEAVY!

GrinningRedHead - make sure you use POULTRY staples, NOT Arrow type staple gun staples to attach the wire. Or use screws with washers (or metal bottle caps if you have them, much cheaper) . The other option is to attach it with a staple gun, then screw or nail wood strapping over the stapled area. I went with poultry staples, cheaper than other options. If you use these, don't whack them in too far until you are sure the wire is just where you want it. They will not be easy to pull out - flat head screwdriver driven under them (and thus into the wood) to get enough leverage.

 

[marianne7]

I have read all these posts so that I can make my chicken tractor as predator proof as I possibly can. I lost my first bunch of chicks on July 25th. They were 8 weeks old. We think it was a pack of stray dogs running around the neighborhood. There were three of them in the yard the next morning at 4 am when my DH was going to work.

I was new at this and it didn't dawn on me that my chicks weren't safe. I loved them and would get a stool and just sit by the tractor and talk to them and watch them play so when I walked out the back door and saw them laying all over the place dead I burst into tears, I cried all day. The predators had torn the chicken wire away from the frame of the coop. Bottom line is we made it very easy for the kill without realizing it.

I had decided not to try again but others encouraged me to try again but to make the tractor predator proof. Of course a tractor is harder to predator proof than a large coop and run BUT I think I have figured out by reading here what is needed. This is my plan.

I have a set up now that the chickens will go up into the top part of the coop to sleep and will be shut in behind hinges with bolt holes and snaps to clip it and lock it.
I have put 16 gauge 1/2 by 1 inch hardware cloth around the yard part and I used chicken staples and doubled them up the boards so that only a dog on steriods can pull this one out.

My best and last thought: for keeping them from digging under to get in, I will be making a skirt but not just any skirt, I am building a long window type box frame to make it sturdy and add strands of barb wire through it. The frame itself will protect me when I need to raise this thing up and down. I will put it on the bottom outside boards of the tractor with hinges. I will latch the barb wire frames up when I need to move the tractor and then let them down to lay against the ground beside the tractor. In order for a predator to dig under the tractor it will have to dig through barb wire.

I am feeling more confident that I can keep my new babies safe.

It really upset me when I read that you cried all day over your chucks.....I did the same when two of mine dies....it's really upseting, but sounds like you have got it worked out now to keep the predators out.....your friends are right, dont let what happened put you off....when you get your new babies, the sorrow from the other will be long gone - Marianne

 

[bruceha2000]

My best and last thought: for keeping them from digging under to get in, I will be making a skirt but not just any skirt, I am building a long window type box frame to make it sturdy and add strands of barb wire through it.

First, my heartfelt sympathy for your loss! Our 12 are 8 weeks old now and I can't imagine coming out to find them dead.

My guess is your "best thought" was replacing the chicken wire with hardware cloth

Chicken wire just doesn't cut it. Really easy to break. And if just "Arrow" stapled on, easy to peel off.

I expect digging through barbed wire would be a pretty short lived event! I know people suggest 18" out for buried wire on fixed runs. I wonder if your frames would need to project farther than that since they are on the ground and the dogs might attempt to dig starting outside them since they are a visible barrier. I have no idea how far a dog would tunnel to get to a 'toy' or a fox/raccoon to get a meal. I think it is an excellent idea for tractors that I've not run across before.

 

[MamaRoo]

Or use screws with washers (or metal bottle caps if you have them, much cheaper) .

Political signs are usually constructed with washer screws.

just sayin'...

 

[okallthis4eggs]

I use strips of wood over the edges of the hardware cloth and put drywall screws thru the strip and thru the squares of the hardware cloth then into the wood frame. Nothing can get the hardware cloth loose if you do that.