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

[Coralietg]

I haven't had time to read the whole thread yet, but I do have a question for people who have owned chickens for a while. Do you think they are more at risk to predators being locked up in a coop/run or while free ranging? While free ranging they are out there for whatever animal to come in and take them (hawks, dogs, raccoons, etc.). However, wouldn't they have a better chance at escaping from a predator if they could get into a tree or something? If the chickens are locked in a coop and an animal gets in somehow, the chickens can't get out and are doomed.

Just wondering what your thoughts are on what is safer. My chickens are free range all day. They come into the barn at 7:00 p.m. or when it gets dark (which ever comes first) and sleep in an enclosed, secure area with roosts and nesting boxes. Still, I worry about what is best for their safety. How much better off are the hens with a rooster around?

We had the largest amount of chickens killed at one time, when they were penned into a smaller area. The dogs got into the pen, and the chickens couldn't go anywhere. Nearly 30 died. Before that, we had them free ranging and if we lost one to a dog, it was one at a time.

We since put up a fence as chickens kept getting hit by cars. So far it has kept the dogs out, and we haven't had a loss from dogs since last April.


Last two weeks we've been having some younger chickens, 8-10 weeks old, just disappear. We put a live trap out, and in 36 hours we caught 3 huge feral/stray cats. Had no losses since.

 

[ochochicas]

Thanks for the reply. Sorry to hear about the dogs getting into the coop.

That is what I'm afraid of. We are making it as critter proof as we can, but I'd feel so guilty of something got in there and they chickens couldn't escape from it.

 

[Triple Willow]

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[Mister B]

I had 5 chickens get killed by neighborhood dogs. First two were my fault, I had inadequate fencing to keep the chickens in. Then, I fixed my fencing problem and let my birds free range. Then, all my hens and rooster were gone. I found feathers and followed the trail to a place where the dogs got under the fence. I found feathers all over my neighbors yard. Never found any chicken parts, though.

Second occurrence, I had hatched some chicks. They got about 5 weeks old and I put them in the run one afternoon. I thought they were ok. They got out and into the pasture. I turned around and a hawk had one about 20 ft up. The others were under a pile of brush. The hawk dropped the chick, but it was too late.

 

[bruceha2000]

We are new to chickens and are hoping to get our egg layers outside soon, as they are currently in the house. I'm posting pictues of our coop to see what people think in regards to security.

We just finished putting this fence up earlier this week. It's 5' high with no overhead cover. The chickens will only have access to this area during the day. I'm concerned about hawks, but my wife claims that the crows (we have a lot of them) will keep the hawks away.



Maybe, maybe not. Crows do chase hawks away but "while the cat is away, the mice will play". You could maybe put bird netting over it attached to the top of the fence but you would need some support posts in the middle of the run to hold it up. It MIGHT help to have some 'lean to' shelters for them to get under, they need some shade anyway, though a hawk can just land can go into the shelter. But it would slow things down enough the chickens might be able to escape.


I lost my first chicken to a predator 2 weeks ago, just a few down and long feathers near the back of the barn. Don't know if it was a fox or a hawk. If a fox, it had to travel across a couple hundred yards of open field in which the grasses have just barely started to grow and then find one of the holes it the ratty old chicken wire to get in where the chickens were at the time. Not sure if they are that stealthy. If a hawk, it carried off a full gown LF not 40' from the door to the barn.

Your fence will keep the chickens in (unless they want to get out). Many breeds can clear a 5' fence and they can get on the roof of the coop and hop out that way if they don't want to go up and over in 1 motion. I understand their preference is to go to the top of the fence and survey the landing area before going over. If the chickens are napping against the fence, they are subject to predation. Don't know how "dog strong" the fence is, a large one might hit it high and bend the wire on the way over. I know Weimaraners can go over a 6' fence. But if you don't have neighborhood dogs running loose, not a problem. Unless you have a skirt of hardware cloth buried outside, several predators can dig under. If you are home all the time the birds are in the run, I doubt you would lose any to digging though.

Now, all that said, because it sounds sort of scary, LOTS AND LOTS of chickens are fine in an area like you have and a LOT would be REALLY HAPPY with that much space. I'm still trying to figure out how to keep mine safe when they are outside.

This is a front view of the coop. The building is solid and there are no holes for anything to get through. We filled some cracks/holes around the window sills with foam sealant.



For reasons I do not understand, chickens like to peck foam so make sure it is covered.
Coops need ventilation, otherwise you will have serious frostbite problems from the humidity in winter and respiratory problems from the ammonia build up from their poop year round. You have to make sure there is plenty of fresh air but no drafts blowing over the birds. If you cover the front of the building over the window area with 1/2" hardware cloth, opening some windows would be perfect, as long as the rest of the building is tight. Leave at least one open all winter, maybe all. Your coop would mimic an open air coop design if you removed the windows. Chickens do not need heat, they have down coats, but they NEED ventilation and they NEED to NOT have cold air blowing over their bodies in the winter. If the windows are facing the direction you get rain from, maybe add an overhang so you can leave the upper half of the windows open all summer. Another thought, if the windows are non operable, would be to hinge them at the top so they can be swung open from the bottom like awning windows. It would take care of any rain issues and let in plenty of air.

BTW, I'm glad to see all that glass. So many coops have little to no natural light. Living in a dark box can't be healthy.

I haven't had time to read the whole thread yet, but I do have a question for people who have owned chickens for a while. Do you think they are more at risk to predators being locked up in a coop/run or while free ranging? While free ranging they are out there for whatever animal to come in and take them (hawks, dogs, raccoons, etc.). However, wouldn't they have a better chance at escaping from a predator if they could get into a tree or something? If the chickens are locked in a coop and an animal gets in somehow, the chickens can't get out and are doomed.

Just wondering what your thoughts are on what is safer. My chickens are free range all day. They come into the barn at 7:00 p.m. or when it gets dark (which ever comes first) and sleep in an enclosed, secure area with roosts and nesting boxes. Still, I worry about what is best for their safety. How much better off are the hens with a rooster around?

They are safest locked up IF the coop is Fort Knox, NOTHING can get in without going through the door. However, I think chickens are much happier and healthier if they can go outside when they want to. Their diet will certainly be much more optimal if they have enough outside area to forage. Mine have access to chicken feed 24x7 year round. They don't eat a lot of it except in the winter when there are not grasses, seeds, worms, moths, and every other small thing that moves (other than wooly bear caterpillars for some reason).

Bruce

 

[EeyoreD]

I haven't had time to read the whole thread yet, but I do have a question for people who have owned chickens for a while. Do you think they are more at risk to predators being locked up in a coop/run or while free ranging? While free ranging they are out there for whatever animal to come in and take them (hawks, dogs, raccoons, etc.). However, wouldn't they have a better chance at escaping from a predator if they could get into a tree or something? If the chickens are locked in a coop and an animal gets in somehow, the chickens can't get out and are doomed.

Just wondering what your thoughts are on what is safer. My chickens are free range all day. They come into the barn at 7:00 p.m. or when it gets dark (which ever comes first) and sleep in an enclosed, secure area with roosts and nesting boxes. Still, I worry about what is best for their safety. How much better off are the hens with a rooster around?

You're right about the chickens being doomed if something gets in the coop. However I just want to be clear what you're asking - are you asking if you should let your chickens just sleep outside at night? It kind of sounds like that since you're already free-ranging during the day.

I don't know that I'd let my chickens sleep outside where anything could sneak up on them. A sleeping chicken is such an easy target. I can't even touch mine during the day, but at night in the coop, even before they're fully asleep, I can flat out pick the suckers up with little to no fighting. If they slept outside, unprotected, it would be so easy for a stealthy predator (and aren't they all stealthy?) to sidle up and kill a chicken before the bird was even aware that it needed to escape.

 

[ochochicas]

You're right about the chickens being doomed if something gets in the coop. However I just want to be clear what you're asking - are you asking if you should let your chickens just sleep outside at night? It kind of sounds like that since you're already free-ranging during the day.

I don't know that I'd let my chickens sleep outside where anything could sneak up on them. A sleeping chicken is such an easy target. I can't even touch mine during the day, but at night in the coop, even before they're fully asleep, I can flat out pick the suckers up with little to no fighting. If they slept outside, unprotected, it would be so easy for a stealthy predator (and aren't they all stealthy?) to sidle up and kill a chicken before the bird was even aware that it needed to escape.

Thanks everyone for the great responses! My chickens will not be left out at night. The two hens are already pretty much on a set schedule. At 7:00 they go into their coop regardless of how light it is out or what the weather is doing. Then I lock them in and they go out in the morning. The same will be true for my chicks when they are big enough. I was contemplating the idea of only letting them free range when I'm home, but since I work a full schedule they'd only be out for 5 hours in the afternoon (less in winter since it gets dark at 4:30). I'm going to stick to my original plan. My coop has 8 - 9 foot high walls, but now I'm realizing I need to cover it. I think a desperate raccoon or opossum could possibly climb the walls and get in from the top. Is heavy netting enough to keep the critter out? Chicken wire over the top? I want it secure enough without obstructing too much light.

I agree that neighborhood dogs are the biggest threat. We really like our immediate neighbor and his dog, but if the dog got to "playing" with the chickens it would be all over. Our property is fenced on three sides by no-climb fencing that is over 5 feet high. It will keep the dogs out but they can still get in the back. I'm not worried about that dog so much, but there is another dog down the street that used to come to our house frequently to harass our animals. The last time it was in the yard chasing the cats we shot at it with very loud handgun. The dog was scared away and we've only seen it once in the last year. It is an eye-for-an-eye around these parts. If the dog messes with the chickens we won't give it a warning shot next time.

 

[bruceha2000]

Is heavy netting enough to keep the critter out? Chicken wire over the top? I want it secure enough without obstructing too much light.

Chicken wire is WORTHLESS for keeping most predators out. Netting is easy for them to chew through, good only for avian predators. ASSUMING you are not worried about weasels, I would think welded wire fencing would be OK as long as it is high enough over the birds that they can not be reached. Otherwise the ever popular (but more expensive) 1/2" hardware cloth.

Bruce

 

[EeyoreD]

Chicken wire is WORTHLESS for keeping most predators out. Netting is easy for them to chew through, good only for avian predators. ASSUMING you are not worried about weasels, I would think welded wire fencing would be OK as long as it is high enough over the birds that they can not be reached. Otherwise the ever popular (but more expensive) 1/2" hardware cloth.

Bruce

Agree. And, just save yourself the heartbreak and splurge for the hardware cloth. You may not have weasels around NOW but they do tend to have HUGE range areas and you might down the line. They're native to Washington, after all. It's cheaper to just get it than to get welded wire and then end up having to buy the hardware cloth anyway (and possibly more birds).

 

[ochochicas]

We don't have weasels. We do have raccoons. opossums, bobcat and coyotes (and dogs). The Larger animals probably aren't going to bother coming to the barn with the horses there, but the racoons and opossums have no boundaries. The coons are masters at tree climbing, so I have no doubts that they can scale a wall and climb over the top of the coop.