10 killed last night

[zippy11455]

Premier Electric Poultry net coming. That should protect against the marauding raccoons. Going to put the smaller cages and chicken tractors inside the poultry netting. Have to do the covered cages because the hawks are constantly circling. Had one dive at the dog crate last week and it pulled up at the last second when it realized it couldn't get to the pullets. Electric fence by itself would just contain the birds for the hawks to pick them off.

Anyone else have a better idea? Is there anything I haven't thought of?

 

[archerobx]

Sorry for your loss.

Sardines or the cheap canned tuna.
Guess this is a cage trap?

 

[ging3rhoffman]

Man, that would be so hard to wake up to that. We lost a couple of our little ducks last year because of chicken wire. We found out that chicken wire can keep the chickens in but the predators can get threw it. My husband decided to use this kind of wire for the chickens. Its real heavy and you can buy it at lowes. You can see it behind my SLW. We also dug around the run and poured quick cete. All that because of predators. When we were done we did sleep better that night. The top is covered also. Another thing is that birds cant fit threw it either so we dont have to worry about the birds eating their food.

 

[zippy11455]

I'm picking up a Havahart trap today. If I catch anything I'm afraid I won't have much of a heart for it though.

The cages I'm taking about putting in the Premier Electric poultry net are the same large dog crates that I kept the chicks in that were killed last night. I use them like a chicken tractor, move them around the lawn so the chicks can have access to grass. I have another batch of smaller pullets that need to go out soon and get some sun and grass. I'm planning to put them in the cage then put the electric fence up around the cage. Two tier protection. Cage for hawk deterrent, the electric netting to keep out the raccoons. I hope it will work. What else can kill chickens? Haven't seen bears here. Possums and coyotes are here though. Will the electric poultry net stop those? What about weasels? Haven't seen one of those in 30 years, but I bet we have them. Will the fence stop weasels?

I'm getting really paranoid now. Feel like everything wants to eat chicken dinner.

 

[djmooney]

raccoon might half dun it put if it was a mink or a fisher it would half been able to get in much much eiser

 

[Lollipop]

Quote:
Definately a coon. Maybe a family. I use Golden Malrin also, but a little differently. Tuna might work in the trap, but if there is more than one, and it sounds like it, you should strongly consider The Recipe. Don`t dispare if the coon doesn`t return for a couple days. After a good meal it`s not unusual to sleep it off. Here`s my Recipe.........Pop


Go to the feed store and get some Golden Malrin. It`s a fly bait used in stables. It is in the equine section and comes in 1 lb and 5 lb cans. Put 1/2 cup of Golden Malrin on a pie tin or styrofoam plate. On top of it place 1 tablespoon of anykind of berry preserves. Very humane. Kills within 10 ft. Put it out in several locations at night and pick up the predators in the morning. Caution, cats will not eat it as they don`t like the chemical smell. Dogs will eat it so put the dog up when The Recipe is out. Don`t get it on your hands. Works on coyotes, fox, coons, possum, etc.

 

[Uppity Peon]

Quote:
It looks like 1" by 1/2" galvanized.
http://www.louispage.com/welded-wire-mesh/

Nice SLW by the way.

 

[zippy11455]

Neighbors have a black lab they let run loose all the time. Luckily she doesn't bother poultry at all. I'd be afraid of leaving poison out and having the lab get into it.

Going to put a trap out for awhile and see if it works. Meanwhile all my poultry that I have left (3 EE's, 3 Speckled Sussex, 3 Austrolorps, 3 SLW's, 3 one week old Buff geese, 10 guineas that are a week old and 6 Khaki Campbell that are less than a week old) are going to be spending nights in the basement in cages for awhile. The ones that are big enough will still go out during the day in their portable crates.

Then I'm headed toward buttoning things up so this never happens again. Once was enough for me. I really miss my Aussie. I think I never had problems before because he chased everything off. Maybe it's time to start looking for another dog. Great Pyrenees this time!

 

[zippy11455]

Set Havahart trap last night with marshmallows, no takers as of this morning. I guess I'll have to keep setting it every night until hopefully the raccoon comes back.

Birds are all in cages in the basement. They seemed shocked to be moved to lock down last night. I have to finish my coffee and go get them outside in their tractors soon. At least the basement is dark and they still think it's night out.

 

[Lollipop]

I leave a live trap set 24/7, baited with a couple eggs. No muss, no fuss. If nothing is caught, I can leave the eggs in there for a month. They don`t attract ants either.

As for the neighbors dog, I always alert my neighbor when The Recipe is out so he can keep his dog in. Hope you have success with the trap, but if you don`t and the problem persists, don`t rule out The Recipe...........Pop