Well...soul crushing....

[Ole rooster]

Wendy............the pavers in my estimation will be fine. Mainly because if it heavy to me it heavy to an animal. All but a bear anyway. I don't think they can pickup a paver, and if they're put together properly they won't slide. But if you use the wire and pavers, no way can anything get in there. The pavers I'm looking at are reclaimed granite pavers. They are heavy and shaped like a key hole. But I like the wire idea a lot.

 

[wendyrun]

thanks Ole Rooster, I have some shopping to do. And that retired fella is going to get a honey-do list. I TRY not to do that but this is urgent.....


Debbie - this is SO TRUE,

I've never seen half of these in my yard, but I know they are out there! Just because you have not seen them, does not mean they don't live in your area. Count on it, and if there is one, there will be more! If they get one chicken, you can bet they will be back for the rest of them! Would you hunt all day or night for berries if you knew there was a chicken dinner waiting for you??

I just can't emphasize enough....HOW many of these stories I read from other BYC people JUST LIKE ME, and I would shake my head and say OH BOY I am so glad that I don't have that problem, it could never happen here, or think that I had done enough.

IF I can help one person here - besides me to learn NEVER EVER EVER get so lax again- I HOPE that if you're like me, you live 'in town' but know there are critters in your neighborhood, PLEASE PLEASE don't let this happen to your girls.​

 

[Pebbles]

Your friend who said the predators haven't discovered you have chickens YET. Is right on. I have had chickens for three years about 9 months ago I decided to let them free range when we were home. All went great for 8 1/2 months. Then, within 1 week coyotes got four of my girls. First time I rationalized if was a fluk thing, I would watch them better. Nope...once they know you have chickens you need to batten down the hatches and do what it takes to stop whatever kind of predator is getting your girls. I must say I feel so fortunate not to have to worry about raccoons here in the desert. They sound like they are very difficult to deter.

When we first got chickens my DH thought my run and coop was overkill as far as all the hardware cloth, closing up any little holes, etc. Now he understands why I did it that way.

 

[jjthink]

town' but know there are critters in your neighborhood, PLEASE PLEASE don't let this happen to your girls.

Sage advice. Every single day I ask myself over and over - did I shut that - did I lock that - and I check and double check for fear of a lapse. It's all up to me and I hope I never have to come upon scenes like you have come upon. I would read BYC threads for the next umpteen months before thinking about more birds - to try to cover every base with your set up so there is no more suffering, theirs...........or yours.

JJ​

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

I think the best decision we made was to research research research BEFORE we got our birds. Both DH and I are disturbingly attached to all our pets (well, I wasn't too keen on the rats the kids talked him into while I was gone for a weekend...but all the OTHER pets), and we knew from the outset that these birds would be treated as pets.

So we built a Ft. Knox coop, for which I am grateful every day. However, even that is not enough, because the chickens want to free-range and every time I open their gate to let them out, my heart skips a beat. There is an adolescent red-tailed hawk who very much wants to make their acquaintance and he is relentless. It is probably just a game of roulette until someone leans left when they should have leaned right, and I will never forgive myself if, when, it happens.

I think it's because these birds are so defenseless that we take on so much responsibility for them. EVERYTHING wants to eat them! Not to mention that they also regularly keel over of unknown causes even when they're safe from predators. So some of it is simply that they are more fragile than we are led to believe.

The recommendations I've seen have been to get a rooster to protect the flock. That's not an option where I live; maybe it is for you. Or a guard dog, although my great big Golden Retriever never even lifted her head when the hawk swooped down after my hens, so I guess you have to get a Great Pyrenees or some other flock guard type. If you're ambitious, handy and have the right kind of space, there is also poultry netting.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Ok, first of all, tell the guy who got on his high horse to your husband about chickens being "just chickens, not pets" to go fly a kite, maybe near a power line.

Most of us so called backyarder's who keep small flocks care very much about our chickens. We love raising them, have invested a lot of time, effort and money into raising them, and do not care to see them shredded.

Then you can tell your husband that yes, farming is hard work, however, keeping chickens is not. Hard lessons have been learned, there's no reason at all not to fix what needs fixing and try again.

Then start thinking about your next coop and how best to secure it. Wire aprons have been discussed, someone mentioned running a few strands of hot wire around the coop. This is an excellent, inexpensive and easy to install deterrent, has worked for me for years.

Good luck, I hope you work it all out and end up with a nice little flock of good layers!

 

[vclark321]

I have a chicken tractor too and the girls are in bed and locked every night. Please don't be too hard on yourself and take what the 'I told you so' neighbor said with a grain of salt. Yes, farming is hard work, but first time farmers all make mistakes and learn the hard way. Even if they grew up on a farm, what they were taught might not always work on their own farm. I seriously doubt that person got into chickens knowing everything. I know I did MASS amounts of research, overkill really, but I see things I could improve upon or do differently. I have a Mastiff and a Yorkie that guard my yard and I use all sorts of weird things to 'mark' my yard.

I am so sorry about your loss! I truly am and my heart goes out to you and your babies. This is tough for sure, but you are much smarter and wiser for it. You know how persistant and aggressive predators can be and you can fight back, but you must have vigilence. It is very easy to get comfortable and complacent.

You are hugged here and not beaten up. We feel your pain and share your sorrow. I know my tractor is heavy too. My fiance' made it for me and you would think he was building Fort Knox with steel rebar. I had to keep telling him no, too much, too much... He did stop before he got to attic insulation. LOL! I have a solar fan that hangs on a vent I got at Home Depot that is used for attic ventilation. It is reinforced with mesh, but the solar panel sits on top of the coop and the fan blows air through the coop.

Good luck and let the process of your loss unfold before you. This is not something we just 'get over', like a cold. Lots and lots of

!

Vicki