LtDanFan
Chirping
The last week we have had a problem with raccoons getting to the chickens. We are planning on putting a roof on the chicken yard and replacing the fencing with hardware cloth to protect the ladies better. We so far have lost a cockerel (good boy clearly defending his flock poor guy) and a cream legbar hen. Thankfully due to a fantastic pet sitter and boyfriend that’s been the total of our losses so far. We are currently not living on the property due to a fire a few months ago but will be back in the next couple of weeks.
In the meantime we have all teamed up to get there as close to dusk as possible to lock the coop door before the coons come out at night.
Problem is that since I think of of those fat bastards was hiding in the coop, the hens are reluctant to go in at night. They have been trying to roost on the fence or other structures and have to be placed in the coop. Any suggestions for getting them to feel safe again?
For reference we have 2 pre fab coops which are scheduled to be replaced by a custom job but in the meantime the small coop is too small for the whole flock and the ones that normally go into the big coop seem reluctant to do so at night. Although they still go in readily to lay eggs thankfully.
In the meantime we have all teamed up to get there as close to dusk as possible to lock the coop door before the coons come out at night.
Problem is that since I think of of those fat bastards was hiding in the coop, the hens are reluctant to go in at night. They have been trying to roost on the fence or other structures and have to be placed in the coop. Any suggestions for getting them to feel safe again?
For reference we have 2 pre fab coops which are scheduled to be replaced by a custom job but in the meantime the small coop is too small for the whole flock and the ones that normally go into the big coop seem reluctant to do so at night. Although they still go in readily to lay eggs thankfully.
