We had our first major attack and chicken loss

[MeadChickenLadyNE]

My husband and I just bought a small farm with about 2.5 acres at the beginning of the summer. We raise goats and chickens and we just had our first loss a few nights ago. On Sunday I noticed a few of our ducks were missing and we only had 1 left. The chickens all seemed okay. Monday I returned home from work and something didn't feel right, there were only a few chickens wandering around. I checked the coop and all looked well besides quite a few feathers; I just figured they were all molting. That was until I saw the first chicken head. When I looked towards the field behind the coop, I saw feathers galore and a few pieces of chickens. My guess is the coyotes came Saturday and Sunday night. We ended up losing 20 chickens, 1 guinea and all 4 of our ducks. I am so sad thinking there is something we could have done to help them, but I know now it is the way of life living out in the country.

My question to everyone is where do we go from here? We have kept the last few girls we have locked up in the coop hoping the coyotes will move on in their hunt. And in hopes that they will recover from the trauma they all witnessed (I can't even imagine). I am too scared to let them out during the day to free range. Before we always left a small door open, maybe 14"x14", but I know that is how the coyotes got in so that is permanently staying closed. I feel so lost without our girls wandering the farm and watching them all interact. We are down to 11 chickens now. Any advice from those who have endured a loss would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Zoomie]

Well, first, welcome to BYC - we are very glad you have joined, even under such sad circumstances. And second, really sorry for your loss. It's so hard to lose them.

Where I live there are just SO many predators that I do not free range. Instead, I have covered runs. Every morning I let the birds out into the covered runs. They have (depending which one I'm talking about, and size) either hardware cloth/welded wire, or deer netting, over the runs. This stops aerial attacks from hawks and owls and makes it somewhere between difficult and impossible for a coyote to get in by climbing. I have also taken care of the perimeter so that no digging can go on. (Buried hardware cloth.)

Another good option is an electric fence. I myself don't have much experience with those because they are not the best solution for me personally, with the set-up I have, so I'll let someone who knows more about that explain. But basically, a good electric fence can work really well, depending the type of predators you are dealing with.

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

I'm so sorry for your loss! Okay, I'm going to go over a few things...
1. How secure is your coop?
2. Do you shut your chickens up at night?

I think that as long as you shut your chickens up at night as soon as they go in, you shouldn't have any problems. Unless your coop has holes where possums or other things could get in. Whatever is getting your chickens, will come back, because to them, that is just free food!! Hope this helps!

 

[EggsPlease-EarnYourKeep]

Wow, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss - that is devastating. I lost two of my three free range chickens (both 7.5 months old) a month ago to two large dogs that jumped my backyard fence. I still have no idea how the third bird was somehow spared. I have since acquired three more birds, but now the chickens only free range when someone is home to supervise them. I have also had a very lengthy run extension built to give the birds plenty of room to move around while they are cooped up all day.

 

[MeadChickenLadyNE]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

To answer some questions, our coop is pretty secure. There is a small door on the ground that we had left open all the time and the chickens would come and go as they please. I didn't think a big predator could fit in there to do anything, but I was sadly mistaken. This door is now permanently closed. Otherwise there is just one large human door that we can open to let them in and out. It just terrifies me because we are both gone all day with no one at home to watch them. The only thing I can think of now is just to let them out on the weekends and in the evenings when we are home and lock them up every night.

We have a run built on the back. It's nothing huge but it's enough for them to hang out outside and take dust baths. I was considering adding on to this, especially if we will keep them locked up while we are gone at work and if we are ever gone on the weekends.

 

[EggsPlease-EarnYourKeep]

My vote would be for adding on to the run. This has worked out well for us and there is peace of mind while at work that the birds are secure from predators. They are let out early in the morning before work for a bit, and they free range for a good portion of the weekend while we are at home.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Since there are many predators there, I would add to the area of the run and work to put up a boundary fence....the boundary fence will act as a deterrant and when someone is at home, there will be a safer area for them to free range in....and it will give ya a cushion to see anything that may approach and a barrier for whatever to navigate back over or under to escape any "Lead" that could be headed its way. Eliminating predators is the only way to have peace of mind that it will never be an issue again. Hoping for them to move on will never stop them and never give ya peace of mind....

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! So sorry for your loss; most of us have been there, and it's rotten.
For now, keep your birds in their safe coop and run. Your varmits will return! Concentrate on having a truly safe run first. Add electric fencing, either the four strand rope or tape (see Howard E's threads) or the electrified poultry netting. Premier1supplies.com has great information, online, in their catalog, and by phone. It's easy to trap opossums and raccoons, and very difficult to live trap coyotes and foxes. Only trap if you will shoot what you catch! Mary

 

[Pegasusi]

I know you are heartbroken. Just as the best deterrent to home break-ins is a large dog so is the best deterrent to predator attacks on livestock. LGD aka: Livestock Guardian Dogs are specifically breed to protect any and all livestock. They are very large dogs and prefer to stay outside with their "charges" at all times. In my opinion they are as essential to farms large and small was a wheelbarrow.

 

[Howard E]

Sorry to hear about your losses. Until one experiences first hand the nature of predators, it is hard to believe the damage they can cause and how quickly it happens.

My setup is not so different from yours, except to date, I've never lost a bird to a predator. What we have in common is a tight coop that protects the birds at night or any other time when they are shut up. Where we differ is my birds are confined to a spacious yard, which is protected on the perimeter by a really hot electric fence. They get to run around and scratch and dig and do all the things birds like to do, but for the most part, are free from worry from ground based predators. What protects them is that electric fence.

By definition, the role of a predator is to kill and eat stuff. Normally that would be rodents and other things, and if they would confine themselves to just that, they would be welcome helpers. But they don't.......it is in their nature to take the easy way out and our birds are an easy to catch, easy to kill meal. So they take full advantage of it while it lasts. That means until they are all gone. Reload and they will come back for more.

You can try a physical fence, but predators encounter those all the time. Physical fences barely slow them down. Well built runs, with aprons to prevent digging and lids to prevent climbers and jumpers may be the exception. Even with that, some varmints, like coons, still manage to reach in to kill birds now and then. With nothing to stop them, they are free to take their time, be persistent and go for it.

Electric fences impose no physical barrier.....at least not of the type we think of. It is purely a psychological one. One varmints assume is irrelevant and harmless until they touch it and it lights them up. That level of violent, painful shock changes everything. Once they get a dose of that, very few of them will ever go near it again. Nothing.....no chicken, no anything is worth getting zapped again with that level of pain. So they move on.

I too live in an area that is infested with neighbors dogs, coyotes, foxes, coons, possums, skunks, probably bobcats, and maybe even mountain lions and bears, yet to date, I've never lost a single bird to a predator.....day or night. I don't rely on guard dogs, donkeys, roosters or any other commonly used means of protecting the birds.

What I have is a tight coop that protects the birds from all comers at night, and a really hot electric fence that protects them by day. Pretty much that simple.