(Well-meaning) human predators in the chicken run, Oh No!

[gtaus]

Have a neighborhood "Children's Day" to go over chicken attributes and fun facts. Close with safety and expectations. It would be fun for you and fun for the kids. You may even get a few interested parents.

Thank you. It's an interesting idea. I'm dealing with vacationing families that are only here for a short period of time. It's pretty hard to plan for much of anything. But I like the idea.

 

[gtaus]

Who know? You might be nurturing the next generation of chicken enthusiasts! Good luck!

Thank you. I'm trying to do my part.

 

[gtaus]

I have had the same issue. When I was working and away from home all day I would come home to find things messed with in the coop - the side door left open- it has a slide latch, so it doesn't open by itself, the shed door standing open, ceramic statues broken on the patio. I thought it was kids - but this year when I went to clean and straighten out the shed, I found some tools missing - I had bought a new pole saw that was still in the box. When I went to move it, the box was empty. Now, I padlock the two privacy fence gates from the inside, put padlocks on the yard shed and the small Christmas decoration shed. I lock the main shed, but still, occasionally I find the chicken coop has been messed with. I have recently put game cameras in the yard. I hate to live in a fortress, but that is the world I live in.

Thank you for the response. For some reason, your post does not show in the thread. I got an email notification of your post, so I just copied it and pasted it here for all to see.

I am sorry to hear about people getting into your stuff and taking your property. That has happened to me, too, and more than the loss of property was the feeling of being invaded that bothered me. I have had to lock up my garage and shed after things went missing. And I will be putting locks on the coop and run, but that will be to protect the birds from getting out. People are still free to come and visit my birds. And the kids are still free to visit my swing set, creek, and whatever as they enjoy their vacations. Please, just don't take things I worked hard for and need to maintain my property and/or birds. I don't want to live in a fortress either, but I understand some good people have to lock down everything to protect it from bad intent people.

 

[gtaus]

... For my animals we started by telling our neighbors that they could feed our chickens over the fence any scraps they had. Big mistake! We have had everything from toxic plants to bones(bbq ribs) to I don’t even want to guess what was under the mold. My experience with neighbor kids has also been pretty bad. ...
...With that I have had neighbor kids come and have a blast and I don’t have to worry all the time. Good luck to you!

Yes, I have been careful to watch what they bring over. So far, nothing of any concern to me so I have been in the good position of just thanking them for the food. I don't want you to leave with the impression that my experience with these kids was bad, it wasn't even though I was afraid things could have gone bad then, or in the future. As it turns out, things worked out very well and everyone had a good time enjoying my chickens. Glad to hear that you too were able to find a good solution to your concerns. Thanks for the response.

 

[gtaus]

Handled beautifully. Next time I might throw a little kid friendly education about the chicks. I think a lock is a must though.

Thank you for the kind words and advice. I did get a chance to pass on a little friendly education about the chicks the next time they visited and that was well received. I posted a few humorous signs about keeping the gate closed, but will follow up with locks on the coop and run. I don't think anybody would intentionally try to harm the chicks, but a good lock might be the best solution to keep unintended consequences from occurring.

 

[gtaus]

Carabiners were ok. Obviously not any longer. Get a padlock. You can put the key up somewhere overhead on the coop where you can reach it and it can't be seen. Do NOT let these boys see where it is. You need to speak to them directly and tell them what they need to hear. At 12 years old, they already fully comprehend trespassing and going where you should not .. but they did it anyway. You need to tell them at least that, if they are coming to see the chickens they MUST go get you first. If they can not find you, then they need to go home and come back later. Lettuce is also very bad for chickens. Romain is better but still not really good. Bread would be better.

Thank you for the many good points offered. I will be trying to get another set of padlocks that match the key I have for the locks on my garage and shed. That way I only have one key for all the same locks. I was able to talk to the kids the next time they visited, and everything went well. The amount of lettuce they brought over was not enough to cause me any concern, and the chicks did not eat it anyway. The next time the kids came over, I gave them some bread I was saving to feed the birds and I also gave them some chicken scratch which I keep ready for treats for the birds on occasion. The kids had a great time and everything ended well. Thanks.

 

[gtaus]

Since your yard is kind of community property to children you could put up a sign on your coop. Make it friendly with a smiling emoticon waving “Hi”. On the sign ask the kids to let you know they want to feed your chickens or to wait until you are out there. You might give approximate times since you don’t want bothered all day long. State that this allows you to make sure the food is safe for them, maybe list some chicken friendly foods. State that to keep the chickens safe from predators it must not be opened by anyone but you. Also put locks on the coop and the run. Since the chickens were scared of them they may lose interest anyway. As you said it is only for the summer and next year will probably be a different bunch of kids, if not this group will teach others. If you want add some fun facts about chickens to your sign, make it educational so it seems less a reprimand and more a learning thing. If you can draw well maybe add outlines of a chicken at different ages, or the difference in size and shape of a hen vs a rooster.

Thank you for the response and the suggestions. These families own cabins that have been in their families for about 50+ years. So we have been fortunate to see children grow up and come back with kids of their own. It's not like different strangers every year. So it's definitely worth my time that the kids know they are free to visit my birds and that there are ways to better enjoy their visits than going into the chicken run itself. They were much happier when I gave them some bread and chicken scratch to feed the birds, which the birds actually like, and the children had my chicks eating out of their little hands. Good memories for all of us.

 

[ellend]

No child of any age should be entering a property, let alone removing carabiners and opening gates, without permission. Period. 12 is PLENTY old enough to know that. You will be doing them a favor by explaining that to them before they get hurt or arrested, although their parents should have instilled this in them long ago! Explain that they MUST obtain your permission EVERY time they wish to visit. Then, while they are visiting you can explain that chickens can become ill or die from foods they might not think might hurt them, predators, etc.. The PRIMARY discussion, however, is that they may never tinker with anyone's property without permission.

 

[Crazybird35]

It sounds like you have a very kind heart and it's great that you are understanding of the interest of the neighborhood kids. I agree with those who say a padlock is necessary. Also, what about a nice sign on the run that says something like "thank you for visiting, if the girls are not out, we may not be home. Please knock at the house."
Or "the girls are busy if they are not out, please try back later."
It would let anyone who stops by that it is not ok to go into the run, but that you are open to them being visited. And you wouldn't have to worry about forgetting to mention it, if you see someone out there. Custom signs can be made for very little these days.

 

[Vicker]

I would not have been so calm and patient, I'm afraid. My instant reaction would have been "Hey! What are you doing in there?