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

[Matzwd]

Use their visits to educate them on chicken care, I think it is an invaluable experience for them.

Yes, this!! Tell them to get up around 5:30 or 6 tomorrow morning and come on over to scoop the poop the chickens made with their lettuce.

 

[gtaus]

...and in that case, they should leave and check back another time but definitely should not be accessing your chicken yard or any other part of your property

Thank you for your concern. My situation may be a little more complicated in property lines. My property is on what used to be a lakeside resort. The visiting neighbors have access to their privately owned family cabins only by going through my property on my road. I cannot block access to my property, even if I wanted. Which I do not want, anyway. So, when my wife and I got this lake property, we expected to "share" our life with visiting families in the summertime more than we would ever expect to when we lived in town. There are no fences in our "hood" and the children have been allowed to "free range" for 30+ years we have lived here. It has been a great joy for me to see the visiting "neighborhood" kids grow up and are now coming back with children of their own when they vacation at the lake.

So yeah, visiting kids on my property not an issue. Kids going into the chicken run was a bit too far. I know they meant well, and if it happens again, I think I'll have a better response next time so they know my concern is that the chickens are kept safe while they can still come and visit the birds.

 

[CLovesDucks]

Need some suggestions on how to handle young neighborhood kids...

This morning, it was raining outside. Normally, I open the pop door on the coop and let the chickens out into the run fairly early in the morning. But, since it was raining, I was taking my time today knowing the birds have both food and water in the coop. Well, the rain slowed down to a light sprinkling, so I headed out to the garage to get some fresh feed for my 10 ten-week-old pullets.

As I turned the corner of the garage, feed bucket in hand, I saw two young neighborhood boys not only in the chicken run, but trying to open the sliding pop door! OK, not good, but try not to panic.

I live on a lake and in the summer we get lots of visiting people for a short period of time. These boys are only here for a few weeks, they are about 12 years old, and they came bearing a sack of lettuce to feed to the chickens. Since the chickens were still in the coop, they were trying to figure out how to open the pop door to feed the lettuce to the birds. So, truly, their hearts were in the right place. But we all know about unintended consequences....

My chicken run has a dog kennel gate panel and I use that gate to get in/out of the chicken run. The gate latch has a secure locking feature to put on a padlock, or in my case, I just use a carabiner. That locks the gate latch for most predators, but certainly not humans. Likewise, I use a carabiner on the chicken coop access door gate latch. Again, easy for humans to bypass.

The kids were not able to get the sliding pop door open. So I guess that my design was tested under fire in real life. When I made the sliding pop door, I added extra weight to the door inside the coop and the bottom of the sliding door extends down into the framing so you cannot get your fingers under, over, or around the door. The door itself is smooth and slippery, so you can't get any leverage on it to pull it up - I tried with my bare hands and I could not do it. Fortunately, neither could these kids.

So, trying to be very calm and understanding, I wished the boys "Good morning" and asked them if they had come to visit the chickens. They said they had some nice lettuce to feed the chickens but they could not get the door open to feed the birds. So I told them that I was also feeding the birds, and that I had to open the small pop door from inside the coop. So they came out of the chicken run and actually not only shut the gate behind them, but also put the carabiner back on for me. That was good.

I opened the pop door and the birds came out. They started throwing lettuce into the run and the chicks got scared and ran right back into the coop! I explained to the kids that these chicks are not used to having people around as I have been the only one to feed and care for them since they were day-old chicks. But I thanked them for the lettuce and thinking of the birds. I told them that they would be back out later and would eat the lettuce then. They seemed to be OK with that and after a short while they left and went back home.

Afterwards, I was thinking about what I should have/could have said.... For example, even though I was thanking them for thinking of the birds and bringing some nice lettuce for them, I should have also told them that if the chickens are not outside, that I might not be at home and don't want the chickens outside in the run. I should have told them that only I should open the pop door and that others should not try to get into the coop. I just did not think of it at the time.

I don't want to be the grumpy old man yelling at the neighborhood kids to get off my lawn, but I am concerned that a gate would be left open, the chickens get out, and then killed by a dog, eagle, hawk, etc... So I am thinking about putting padlocks on the coop and gate, at least during the summer when the visiting neighbors arrive. These kids will only be here a few weeks, and I really want to encourage them to enjoy my chickens and feel free to visit. My wife and I never had any children, so I am not quite sure on how to best both encourage these children while at the same time stressing to them that there are boundaries which should not be crossed - like going into the chicken run and trying to open the pop door!

Well, if you have read this post thus far, you are probably the type of person who could offer me some suggestions on how to better handle these type of situations with the neighborhood kids. So I open it up to you for some thoughts. Thanks in advance.

You bring up some excellent questions and it sounds like you already have a healthy, friendly way of approaching the potential situation. I think it’s lovely the boys took interest in your chickens but, as you said, boundaries should be clear. Sending tons of warm wishes to you and your chickens. For what it’s worth, I have a padlock on my coop that helps enforce boundaries

 

[Matzwd]

Thank you for your concern. My situation may be a little more complicated in property lines. My property is on what used to be a lakeside resort.

I understand. It sounds like a really enjoyable community to live in.

 

[ValerieJ]

I have no concerns about you, your property, or your chickens. You have all the right attitude for your unique situation. I'm so happy to hear such an open, optimistic, loving person on here. I would definitely enjoy children coming to see my chickens. I would also immediately educate them on what chickens need, and what dangers they face. Great Post!Great discussion!

 

[gtaus]

Yes, this!! Tell them to get up around 5:30 or 6 tomorrow morning and come on over to scoop the poop the chickens made with their lettuce.

No! Not this! You guys kill me.

My luck is that they would be knocking on our door at 5:30 am dark, flashlights in hand, to tell me that they were going out to the chicken run to scoop the poop the chickens made with their lettuce, but couldn't tell which poop was from their lettuce, which was from the grass in the chicken run, or which was from their chick starter feed. I can only see that idea backfiring on me. No good outcome to be expected from that suggestion, I'm afraid. Thanks anyway.

 

[gtaus]

I understand. It sounds like a really enjoyable community to live in.

It's been a great community to live in for many years. The wife and I have been very lucky.

 

[BreanneRN]

Yes, I know their parents but not real well. They come out here to the lake for just a few weeks every year. The mother and the kids were over a few days ago and fed the chickens some strawberries. That was fine with me. What caught me off guard was seeing the boys over here, in the chicken run, trying to get the pop door open, and not having any parent with them to tell them no.

No harm today, but I am thinking about what I should do if it happens again. Like I said, the boys hearts were in the right place, but I felt they crossed over the line when they let themselves into the chicken run and tried to force open the pop door.

Some of this may be my problem because I also have a nice wooden swing set with slide that I still maintain for the visiting children even though my wife and I have no kids out here anymore. Also, we have a small stream going through our property and all the neighborhood kids are in there catching frogs and such. So the visiting children have always been free to use my property and I really enjoy that. They enjoy their vacations out here at the lake and I like to think I make it just a little better for them.

Your heart is in the right place too! I agree with all the previous advice, just tell the kids you enjoy sharing the joy of chickens with others, but they are small and are subject to bad guys, like hawks and raccoons and stray dogs, so have to be careful, and you don't want them out unless you are there to watch them. You might give the kids your phone number to call and ask if it is a good time to come over to feed the chickens next time they want to do that. They are just kids and have a lot to learn, and you can be part of that village, teaching respect for others and the joy of shared interests. I know when I was a kid I spent a lot of time in the alley watching a neighbors chickens... Finally, the neighbor gave me a pair of Silkies and my father had to build a chicken coop...

 

[gtaus]

I would definitely enjoy children coming to see my chickens. I would also immediately educate them on what chickens need, and what dangers they face.

It gives me great joy to see children coming over and enjoying the chickens. I will have to get better on the education part. I think that is important.

Today, I was just more concerned about not being that grumpy old man chasing the kids off his lawn - even though they had exceeded the boundaries by going into the chicken run and trying to open the pop door to feed the chickens. Still, what are you going to do when the kids come over with food they saved for your birds? How can that not make you feel good about those children?

 

[gtaus]

... They are just kids and have a lot to learn, and you can be part of that village, teaching respect for others and the joy of shared interests.

Yes, I am trying to do my part and thanks to all the good suggestions from the BYC people, I think I'll have a better response that next time.