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

[CherMarie]

Nothing to add, really, other than this whole post made me want to give you a big ole hug!! You're awesome.

 

[Steven Bussell]

Nothing to add, really, other than this whole post made me want to give you a big ole hug!! You're awesome.

I agree about giving him a hug. Thank God they're more good people like him in this world them grumpy old man

 

[AmyJane725]

Happy times! The kids came over with their parent this evening. They were all sitting at the fence watching the chickens. So I gave them some treats for the birds that I was going to give the birds anyway. The kids stayed real still and soon the chickens were eating out of their hands. The kids had a blast. I really enjoyed watching the kids having a good time with my chicks. It's all good and I thought I would just try to bring this thread to a happy ending. Heres a few pics....

View attachment 1842499 View attachment 1842500
And yes, for those of you wondering, I asked the mother how she liked my cute little signs. She said she loved them and we had a nice little chat - about things in a round about way. Message sent and received very well. Could not have gone better.

Thanks to all.

Glad it worked out exactly as you had hoped. That's very rare in this life.

 

[SleepyMommy]

I was going to suggest a sign, but I’m glad to see you got it all worked out. Kids tend to listen when they understand the “why” of things. Especially if it’s to protect something they enjoy or can be related to their own experience as children.

 

[Charlenesmom]

Get rid of the carabiners, use padlocks...
I have every clean out door, gate with padlocks...no one gets in except me. Carabiners can also be opened by savvy raccoons...not good. Welcome the children when and if you like, but protect your flocks with locks!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

You're a good man, Charlie Brown.

 

[gtaus]

Get rid of the carabiners, use padlocks...I have every clean out door, gate with padlocks...no one gets in except me. Carabiners can also be opened by savvy raccoons...not good. Welcome the children when and if you like, but protect your flocks with locks!

I live on what was once a lakeside resort. For 9 months of the year, there are only 5 of us who live out here, and most of them are older than me. So, not much to worry about there. Most of the families that vacation here in northern Minnesota where I live come around the 4th of July. The visiting children that came over and got into the chicken run are leaving tomorrow morning and will be gone for another year. They visited the other day and stayed out of the chicken run and were more than happy to hand feed the chickens with some bread and scratch feed I let them have for the visit. So happy endings there. Chicks are safe, children had a good time, everyone had a nice vacation at the lake and are now going back home.

I was not aware that savvy raccoons could open a carabiner. Most of my doors on the coop have 2 points of locks, so I think it would take a very smart raccoon, or a very smart family of raccoons to get both locks undone. In any case, I do plan on getting padlocks for the coop and have them in place next year before the kids arrive. I have already posted some humorous signs about not letting the chickens out, so I think the padlocks will just reinforce the point that they can easily understand.

 

[esavvymom]

I just read this thread and had to say that I love how the story ended and had a great laugh at the sign. We are going to use that sign for our place....only we may have to add a turkey (we have two royal palms...one is a Tom, and he runs the place. It’s so bad he and my husband have conversations. He waits for him to give him scratches on the back of the neck, and he likes to stare in the front door.)

But as far as kids, especially city kids, they are curious and it gave you a great way to explain the “country ways” to them. Sounds like you handled it perfectly and as others said, something they will remember for a long time.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[alanpeg2u]

I've had a padlock on my run since day one and I've NEVER regretted it ...even when I've forgotten the key and had to walk back to the house to get it! Whether someone's intent is evil or not, I just don't like anyone messing with my property: animal, machinery, plant, or anything else.

 

[Spiritsmeadow]

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.

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.