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

[prettychicks]

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.

It is amazing what we will go through to protect our flocks. A friend of mine raises parakeets. She put 12 inch square concrete stepping stones on the floor of her pen, wall to wall along with the hardware cloth and has never lost her birds. Of course, they would be harder to catch than chickens but seems like a good idea. She just hoses/scrubs down the floor of her coop when it needs it. The wood frame was built around the blocks so they couldn't shift. I am like you all in that I would go to great lengths to protect my poultry.

 

[Queen of the chickens]

My run is made of cattle panel with chicken mesh lining it. We also covered the top with chicken mesh and zip-tied it together. It works as long as nobody really wants in. An owl managed to find a hole big enough to get in through the top. Our dog has been able to push the fencing aside and crawl through the 4 x 6 squares on the cattle panel (we are talking large, very hairy female Samoyed) and coons have recently found a week spot and are slipping through to relieve us of about a chicken a night. We have caught a possum and a coon so far in the live trap. We will see if that ends the problem. Electric is our only other option.

 

[EeyoreD]

My run is made of cattle panel with chicken mesh lining it. We also covered the top with chicken mesh and zip-tied it together. It works as long as nobody really wants in. An owl managed to find a hole big enough to get in through the top. Our dog has been able to push the fencing aside and crawl through the 4 x 6 squares on the cattle panel (we are talking large, very hairy female Samoyed) and coons have recently found a week spot and are slipping through to relieve us of about a chicken a night. We have caught a possum and a coon so far in the live trap. We will see if that ends the problem. Electric is our only other option.

Not sure exactly what you have but I have a hoop coop with cattle panel and hardware cloth. I would replace your chicken mesh with hardware cloth. The chicken mesh is good at keeping chickens in but not really good at keeping predators out. If you don't have a floor make sure you either dig in more of the hardware cloth (not chicken mesh) about 2 feet deep or lay out an apron that is well anchored either by screws or bricks or something right up to the coop itself and extending out at least 2 feet.

 

[bruno1972]

I unfortunately now fit into this group because I lost all 4 of my babies yesterday to my own dog. I had just finished their coop and decided to put them in it for a few hours to get some excercise, they were only 7 weeks old and not quite ready to be out full time. Our lab/chow mix who has always been near them since we brought them home was laying next to the coop just watching them. A short while later while doing yard work my neice yelled something and I looked to see our dog pouce on one of the chicks and maul her with his mouth. I yelled and ran over to find her hurt but still alive and saw the other 3 scattered around the yard. He didnt tear them up, just killed them. He had literally torn open the chicken wire and barged through the end in the chase. The lone survivor died a short time later. Needless to say my daughter was devastated and we all are in a bit of shock over the incident. We will be getting some new chicks and thanks to this site I will be reworking my security for the coop. We are putting a short fence and gate to cordon off the coop are from the rest of the yeard and I will definetly be looking into different types of actual fencing for the coop itself. Also we are going with an electric fence to keep out other predators as well. Yesterday just plain sucked

 

[Chicksrulefarm]

My friend lost 3 chicken to coyotes in the day light when they were free ranging in the back yard. We found feathers scattered every were and three sad piles of feathers with leftover heads and feet.Very devastating view. It happened withing a few minutes.
We thought coyotes only hunt in the evening and at night. Not true! Hungry coyote will come any time a day and they will come into your property right to your back door. The chickens that are left don't free range every day anymore. They only get that chance if somebody there with them the whole time.

 

[okallthis4eggs]

Sorry about the loss and thanks for sharing your story. Get the 1/2" X 1/2" 19 gauge galvanized hardware cloth to fence in the chickens. A coon will chew thru the chicken wire and kill them all too.

 

[Chicksrulefarm]

Sorry about the loss and thanks for sharing your story. Get the 1/2" X 1/2" 19 gauge galvanized hardware cloth to fence in the chickens. A coon will chew thru the chicken wire and kill them all too.

Thank you for advise. The property is on 1 acre land with no real fencing. I don't think my friend would want to fence it. The chicken coop and run actually very well build. It is 15 years old and all this time no animal ever got in. And there are raccoons, coyotes, eagles, hawks, owls, and roaming neighbors' dogs occasionally. So the girls are safe there, but they sure miss their free range freedom.
I might check out this cloth to use in my coop. I assume large hardware and do-it center would sell it, right?

 

[okallthis4eggs]

You can get "hardware cloth" it at Home Depot. I bought it online from a supplier that sold it in 100 foot rolls because I needed so much it was cheaper that way. Actually my response was to bruno1972 who had the dog tear thru the chicken wire and kill their chickens. A fence wouldn't keep out coyotes in your situation. You have the best thing in a well built coop and run. Free range chickens always will be at risk. Good luck to you.

 

[Chicksrulefarm]

I unfortunately now fit into this group because I lost all 4 of my babies yesterday to my own dog. I had just finished their coop and decided to put them in it for a few hours to get some excercise, they were only 7 weeks old and not quite ready to be out full time. Our lab/chow mix who has always been near them since we brought them home was laying next to the coop just watching them. A short while later while doing yard work my neice yelled something and I looked to see our dog pouce on one of the chicks and maul her with his mouth. I yelled and ran over to find her hurt but still alive and saw the other 3 scattered around the yard. He didnt tear them up, just killed them. He had literally torn open the chicken wire and barged through the end in the chase. The lone survivor died a short time later. Needless to say my daughter was devastated and we all are in a bit of shock over the incident. We will be getting some new chicks and thanks to this site I will be reworking my security for the coop. We are putting a short fence and gate to cordon off the coop are from the rest of the yeard and I will definetly be looking into different types of actual fencing for the coop itself. Also we are going with an electric fence to keep out other predators as well. Yesterday just plain sucked

So sorry about your babies. I hear many stories about dogs killing chickens. Looks like the moral to all of us is - never trust our own dog!

 

[bruno1972]

So sorry about your babies. I hear many stories about dogs killing chickens. Looks like the moral to all of us is - never trust our own dog!

Sorry about the loss and thanks for sharing your story. Get the 1/2" X 1/2" 19 gauge galvanized hardware cloth to fence in the chickens. A coon will chew thru the chicken wire and kill them all too.

Thanks, I will definetly be looking into this option for new mesh on the coop and run.

and unfortunatley this is true. We never even considered he would have done this. We are taking steps to make sure this never happens again with him or any other animal or predator. Looks like we may be waiting on starting the new flock until later this summer or early fall.