Worrying about what could happen

[bhawk-23]

I do the same I have to count them multiple times a day. I count them when I lock up and everytime I let the dogs out I have to check locks and count up until bedtime. We have a camera in the coop but hubs won't add another to the run despite my pleas. I may take matters into my own hands.
But I also have to count my pets before leaving the house. I know they are there, but if I don't see them to count I feel uneasy and have to go back in the house and check.
It doesn't stop my life or hinder it in anyway. It's just a quirk I have about my animals. And that's ok

If it's causing you stress then maybe there is an underlying cause. But if you're like me and can function normal on a day to day basis then we all know how serious you are with providing the best for your pets

 

[Bejep714]

It is understandable to be concerned, due to all the tragic stories on this predator forum. In fact, reading all the tragic stories gave me the know-how to build fort knox coops and runs so i didnt have a tragic story myself. It sounds like u have taken many positive steps to ensure their safety. Re the zig-zagged string over the top of the run, the only thing that would be better (to guard against arial predators) would be heavy duty netting, 2×4 welded wire, or something similiar. As others have suggested, motion detector lights, a game camera or baby monitor might help ease your mind. It sounds like you are very dilligent in protecting your chickens. And btw a good strong latch on the lock is actually Necessary not optional to prevent raccoons from gaining access. I agree that if u will post pictures of your coop and run, you will get great advice on how to better predator proof it if needed. It is very normal to worry about your chickens safety, since they are valued and loved. But it IS possible to protect them fully so you can sleep soundly at night.

Thank you for answering. I will send pictures of the coop and run. These photos are from last year, but not much has changed. We bulked up the string across the run and added a trailer hitch as a lock for the front door of the coop. It sticks inside the hole of a latch and prevens it from opening.

 

[Bejep714]

Here are the pictures

 

[Bejep714]

I do the same I have to count them multiple times a day. I count them when I lock up and everytime I let the dogs out I have to check locks and count up until bedtime. We have a camera in the coop but hubs won't add another to the run despite my pleas. I may take matters into my own hands.
But I also have to count my pets before leaving the house. I know they are there, but if I don't see them to count I feel uneasy and have to go back in the house and check.
It doesn't stop my life or hinder it in anyway. It's just a quirk I have about my animals. And that's ok

If it's causing you stress then maybe there is an underlying cause. But if you're like me and can function normal on a day to day basis then we all know how serious you are with providing the best for your pets

I am exactly the same. If I am leaving and they are not all out in the run, I check and see if they are in the coop. It is reassuring to see someone does similar things as I do

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Your coop is very nice! It appears to be very solid and secure. I couldnt see the windows well enough to tell if they are covered in hardware cloth? If not, that could be a place for a predator to enter unless the windows are kept closed. (Which might cause ventilation issues.) Re the Top of your run, it does appear that u have strung enough blue string to entangle any hawk attempting entry. Not sure about the sides of run though. Again i cant tell from pic, but if run is enclosed in chicken wire, just about any daytime predator could easily break through. (Keep in mind that "night" predators such as coyotes, fox, & bobcats as well as smaller critters are ocassionally active during the day, esp when food is scarce.) Dogs roaming through might also easily breach the run. Not trying to cause you more anxiety, just trying to pinpoint any weak spots to address so u can rest easy. Due to all the tragic stories on this forum, ive spent thousands over the years to completely cover 3 large coops in runs in 1/2" hardware cloth. Including all sides & tops, with a 3 foot apron to deter digging predators. Yes it was expensive, but i decided my peace of mind was priceless. Plus for each coop & run, it was once and done. Years later have had no breaches at night.

 

[Bejep714]

Thank you! The windows do have chicken wire covering the insides and all summer they were opened. Do you think chicken wire on the windows is fine? I think the windows are high enough to keep any animals away at night when the windows are open. About the run wire, it is chicken wire only. We have our chicken coop and run inside our yard, which means it is surrounded by another fence. Along with that we have neighboring houses right next to the coop. We live a field away from the woods. They are seen from the coop, but very far away. We have never seen any predators in our yard during the day before. Our coop is also on stilts, which makes it even safer so nothing can get in at night by digging under. Do you think it is safe enough? It has almost been a year since the chickens have been outside and nothing bad has happened predator wise before, but I want to make sure nothing can happen at all.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I would say it would take a desperate hawk to get into that.

But also...

Hawks get desperate sometimes.

It took almost a year an a half before my uncovered run got its first predator. But mine has an open top. Yours is probably safer.

A rooster can also help.

 

[ChicNmom]

Hi and Welcome!

I don't know where you are located so not sure if this is an issue. If you have bears in your area they can break through chicken wire on windows or knock down a coop on stilts if it's not secured in the ground. Other than that your set up looks good.

We have gone a little crazy with chicken security here. The first 3 years we had no predator losses and only a few hawk scares. We do let ours out because we don't have enough yard for a nice run like you have and we also got them to reduce the tick population.

We would let them out even if we weren't home and all was well. Then one winter we lost a younger one to a hawk. So no one gets out unless someone is home. My husband had installed a few cameras. Then after another scare there were more cameras.

One went off by herself and she was prone to doing and we heard her scream in the woods. I didn't even find a feather. I had been at work. He didn't notice she had wandered away but on the cameras we had she was gone about 3 hours. So he got another bank of cameras. When people come to the house they see all the cameras and I have to explain it's for the chickens 20 cameras on the house and 4 in the coop and run.

We had 2 attacks with just minor injuries. The a coyote ran out of the woods and grabbed one. There were no cameras facing that direction so, more cameras! Because of the coyotes we now have 4 motion detectors in the woods and a trail cam.

Squirrels don't even get in the yard without an alarm going off.

If the motion detectors go off in the woods my husband will sit outside with a shotgun in case it's a coyote. I'm surprised Amazon is still willing to come to our house because they frequently show up while he's sitting out there. LOL

And we also do a head count frequently. If we forget to count someone goes back out just to be sure no one is missing.

Your chickens are lucky to have you be so concerned about them!

 

[Bejep714]

We were thinking about getting a rooster chick this spring and raising it to help with the flocks safety. We don't have bears in our area. We do have coyotes in our area, but none by our house. Our house area doesn't see many predators during the day. The only ones I see are hawks. One time our chickens were huddling in the corner of our run because a hawk was sitting on one of the fence posts to the run. The only animal that could be a danger to our chickens is a stray cat that lives in our garage that is almost literally up against the coop. He was first spotted during the summer, and as of right now hasn't bothered the chickens one bit. We do live next to an Amish farm, which in my opinion adds a bit of safety. They live up on the hill and own the field by the woods. They wouldnt think twice of shooting a predator in the field . we also own two dogs. They don't bother our chickens, but would definently protect them since our chickens coop and run is in the middle of our fenced in yard.
I do have a question for chocolate mouse. When you say your run has an open top, I'm guessing you mean you have nothing at all? I was just wondering. We do let our chickens out to roam our fenced in yard from time to time, every time with one of us outside since at the moment we don't have a rooster. Once a group of bald eagles flew over really low, they probably were not interested in the chickens because they continued on their way. Our chickens booked it back into the run as fast as they could. We don't have any alarms or cameras, I sort of wish we did, but everyone in my family would think I'm worrying to much. Thank you for answering me.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thank you! The windows do have chicken wire covering the insides and all summer they were opened. Do you think chicken wire on the windows is fine? I think the windows are high enough to keep any animals away at night when the windows are open. About the run wire, it is chicken wire only.

For better security switch to hardware cloth or welded wire, no openings larger than 1/2".

Otherwise I'd suggest some coop and run cameras, sure made things easier for us to be able to just look at the camera to make sure everyone's in the coop and well situated.