What is a good poison?

[dixygirl]

Quote:
Thanks Marrie, I think you are right. Sounds like there is no real way to allow them to free range all the time in this situation.

I put the ducks in the pond and the chicks on the lawn and went to the store and came back. Everybody was still there when I got back .... BUT a hawk or something was circling overhead!!

I guess you can't kill everything so i will just have to make a run that is so large that they feel like they are free ranging. This reality makes me very unhappy.

So no one lets their birds completely free range?

 

[chcknrs]

I completely free range my chickens. The only thing that has happened so far is the hawk who got Mo, my EE hen. The chickens tend to stay where there is shelter nearby since then. I have seven acres in the foothills, lots of predators, but the dogs and the guys do their jobs. My chickens love to free range, and I just couldn't imagine keeping them caged in all day.

 

[chicknmania]

Not only is poison not a good idea, it is probably illegal. Shame on you for wanting to tempt innocent wild creatures with bait, who probably have babies to feed, and may not even have noticed your birds, and then poison them. Not only that, if your birds find a dead creature that has been poisoned, they will pick at it and suffer the same fate. If you can't figure a way to keep your birds safe, then maybe you should think a little harder.

 

[chicknmania]

OH, and by the way? Our birds completely free range. We very rarely lose one to predators, and when we do, chalk it up to experience.

 

[horsejody]

If you trap, please do not relocate. It is illegal in most states. It also speads disease and and places the relocated animal in another predators territory. Not to mention, it just moves your problem to somebody else's place. Diseases like rabies and distemper used to be in isolated pockets that were few and far between. Now, partly because of well meaning people relocating animals, diseases are more wide spread. That is why many states have laws that wildlife cannot be relocated anymore than 100 yards from where they were captured unless given permission by municipalities or wildlife officers.

BTW foxes will hunt in broad daylight, especially when they have young to feed. My friend has a fox problem at her house. It has taken quite a few chickens. I saw the fox myself one day heading for her coop in the middle of the afternoon.

Poison can be a long cruel death. You should shoot it or just learn to live with it. If you trap it and want to relocate it, contact a local wildlife rescue group so that it can be handled properly.

 

[Peeps]

I would love to free range! So I am always pondering how I can do this. We have 2 property's, my house & my husbands house. (neither one of us wants to sell our house LOL!) They are only about 5 miles apart. My house is the farm property I just work here, my office is here along with the chickens & a huge garden. If our German shepherds were here I could free range. They keep all critters away, and it is very easy to train them not to eat the chickens. So that is one option for you, get a good watch dog, and by next year you can free range.

Another option my neighbor & I have pondered is just having a lot of chickens like 50 -100, that way they could free range and if a few got eaten it wouldn't really matter. Survival of the fittest! LOL! BUT we worry our properties would become a feeding haven for all the coyotes, foxes, bobcats & mountain lions we have around here.

So, until my husband decides to sell HIS house, so we can live here and have the protection of the dogs, my chickens can't free range

 

[dixygirl]

Quote:
How dare you try to tell me how to handle my environment. You let those "innocent" creatures eat your pets if you want to and I will do what I see fit. As far as the poor creature who "may not even have noticed my birds"...yesterday I had not even carried them outside yet and the fox was already sneaking up us in broad daylight. I do not want the disease infested foxes or possums anywhere near me. They probably have rabies. If we eat eggs produced by a hen who is infected with rabies..... guess who will get sick. If we eat a chicken infested, we have epidemic afoot.

I wish I could let you have them since you like them so much.

 

[hdchic]

I understand your frustration, and although many do not and will try to portray you as cruel, I completely understand. I live way out in the country, and like I said, the folks around here keep the Coke handy. I'm sure any soda will do, and they use it more than rat poison, etc.

Something else you could try are the old fashioned leg traps. I have a neighbor (2 miles away) who traps regularly. You chould check the local laws on trapping, or find someone who is willing to set them around your property and do the collecting for you. My friend does it free for me as long as he can keep the hides to sell. I have foxes, coyotes, possums, racoons, redtail hawks, etc. I have yet to have one get my coop and runs.

Ocassionally I let the hens roam around, but lock them up at night.

I guess what I'm saying is....negative posts don't help anyone.

 

[dixygirl]

Thanks Peeps, I will look into the idea of a dog. Will the rabies vaccine totally prevent the dog from having any illness if he gets scratched in a tussle with the predators?

 

[eggzettera]

This is required reading and it sounds like some of you have not read
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5808
&
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/misc.php?action=rules

Play nice!