Ugh, everything loves chickens!

[Brandy2512]

Why do chickens have to be so delicious?! I finally I got the two hawks to stay away and the last night my husband spotted a fox next to the coop. It ran off & I thoroughly inspected the coop & run this morning. No signs a him trying to get in, thank goodness. I like to free range the girls in the afternoon, with me checking on them every hour or more, but I think I may only start letting them out when one of us is outside with them. The thought of losing one breaks my heart. Being a chicken mama is tough. I’m trying harden my heart a little and accept that I may lose some or all of them but it is difficult. The coop windows & run are all covered in 1/4 inch hardware cloth, buried down in the ground too, so my husband is fairly confident in its security, but he is also less attached to the girls. They are so happy when free ranging & I would hate to take that away from them. Sorry for rambling, but I just need to vent & know you guys get it. Never did I imagine I would care for a flock of chickens so much.

 

[Tortoise]

Not likely the fox will bother them during the day unless you live in a very wooded area then its possible. They do most of their hunting at night.
I live in a populated area and I have had a fox visit 3 times but only at night. Because it's almost impossible for the fox to get too my chickens he doesnt visit often. Once they figure out it's too hard to get thru they dont seen to hang around but might make a visit back now and then.

 

[Homesteadermomma6382]

Last month I lost 8 of my flock to fox in the middle of the day while I was napping. They had jumped the 4 foot fence to free range. We dont let that happen anymore.the rest of my flock stayed in the fnced area with our 3 goats. The fox did come back but hubby shot at it. Hasnt come back. I have become overly protective of my babies since then. If you figure out how to harden that heart let me know because losing my babies is devastating. My most recent predator was barn rats. Took 5 2 week old chicks. In the process of irradicating them.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I only do supervised free ranging for about an hour a day. I've not lost any of my birds to predators, however, my neighbor has lost 6 or 7 chickens at least over the past two years. I didn't get chickens to feed the local predators, so I keep a close eye on them.

 

[Tortoise]

Last month I lost 8 of my flock to fox in the middle of the day while I was napping. They had jumped the 4 foot fence to free range. We dont let that happen anymore.the rest of my flock stayed in the fnced area with our 3 goats. The fox did come back but hubby shot at it. Hasnt come back. I have become overly protective of my babies since then. If you figure out how to harden that heart let me know because losing my babies is devastating. My most recent predator was barn rats. Took 5 2 week old chicks. In the process of irradicating them.

Wow I'm surprised. So sorry. I do think it depends on location. I'm in the city of Chicago. The wildlife of all kind do visit but they have to go thru neighborhoods to do so. If I lived on the edge of one of the cities forest preserve like a friend does, I'd have many more problems I'm sure.
Everyone does need to take their location into consideration.

 

[Homesteadermomma6382]

I only do supervised free ranging for about an hour a day. I've not lost any of my birds to predators, however, my neighbor has lost 6 or 7 chickens at least over the past two years. I didn't get chickens to feed the local predators, so I keep a close eye on them.

I dont think thats why any of us got chickens unfortunately 11 of my 13 acres is forest. The harder we work to keep our chickens safe the harder the critters work to get at them. We dont lose birds often but it does happen. We dont generally lose them to the same type of predator twice.

 

[cmom]

I have lost birds during the middle of the day to fox. The fox is probably lurking looking for an opportunity to get a bird and you will probably not see it. They are sneaky. One day I was out painting the coops and a fox came up and grabbed my favorite bird while she was dust bathing. Another time during the day a fox dug under a gate to a pen and killed some birds. It dragged them out under the gate one at a time. When I saw it I chased it off and used one of the bodies as bait and caught the fox. I knew it would be back since it had killed. I then put concrete under the gates.

 

[Brandy2512]

We live in the country with our property backing up to several miles of woods. I wouldn’t trade it for the suburbs, so I guess I will have take the good with the bad.

 

[Brandy2512]

The lurking is what I am afraid of.

 

[Homesteadermomma6382]

We live in the country with our property backing up to several miles of woods. I wouldn’t trade it for the suburbs, so I guess I will have take the good with the bad.

Same here