Two-legged predators!

[seventreesfarm]

We just did our head count today and it seems we're short 5 barred rock laying hens!
Our laying flock is mixed, and we just sold off most of the barred rocks, but we kept 10 just for ourselves. Now we have 5, plus 10 hens of other breeds and our BCM roo.

It wasn't an animal predator based on lack of any evidence and the fact that all the missing hens were one breed. We just opened a range pen that fronts the road and has some areas that are out of sight of our house and any neighbors. We're wonderign if someone hopped the fence and helped themselves. It's possible they went into the coop though, but you'd have to go through the main gate, a barnyard gate, then the hen house door.

Unfortunately our dogs have been sleeping inside at night because of the weather (yeah, re-doing their outside doghouse is on the list) so we didn't have any ruckus out of the ordinary.

We get plenty of people of a certain nationality that stop by a lot and ask if we are selling chickens. I had to call the cops on a couple that refused to leave once. Might have been a language problem, but I can usually get my point across in that language ok, so who knows.

Anyway, has anyone else had hens stolen by humans? What kind of security do you have?

 

[redsoxs]

Wow! That really stinks!

I live in the country so I usually only have to worry about 4-legged or winged chicken thieves. I have read people use motion lights, trail cams, and locks on the coop. Sorry to hear about the thievery.

 

[seventreesfarm]

We're in a rural area, but close to a couple small towns, and there is a surprising amount of crime with the seasonal worker population. There is also a fair amount of cockfighting in the area, so I'm glad my big roo wasn't taken.

We have some plans to add a motion activated siren, plus some other odds & ends. We have a motion light, but with the dogs sleeping inside

Tonight we'll pull the flock off that run and lock the coop door. That should help during the night time. The dogs will have to do the trick during the day.

 

[BadScorpio]

Bummer. I hope you catch them.

 

[Nambroth]

I'm sorry to hear this. We have had people randomly stop and go down to our chickens before, and we live on a back road, on a dead end... Maybe it was harmless curiosity, but I don't take any chances and have heavy padlocks on everything now. Someone that was very determined could bring heavy cutters and get through the fence I suppose, but the locks should stop anyone that is looking for a quick steal.