How to Keep Predators Away

[Jill 2Ducks]

Hi all,
So I have had my coop and chickens for about 3 years now and have never had an incident until this summer. We have had chicks and adult hens in that coop and nothing has shown interest until this year. I have had to deal with multiple snakes getting our chicks, I believe we had a fox come and drag one of our birds away, and just last night I think I had a raccoon get into the coop to kill our birds (then he politely left his poop behind for us to clean up). I have hardwire cloth down on the base of the run to prevent digging and just this past week we fully decked out the inside of the coop with hardwire cloth to prevent anything in there. I have an automatic door that opens and closes when I want and everything else is locked up. So far this summer I have lost 10 birds to predators. Is there something I am missing or do I just have terrible luck with chickens. I am planning to set a trap tonight and see if anything shows up in the morning but other than that I am at a loss. It is just very devastating and frustrating to see all of our efforts go to waste and have our girls get killed.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Hi! I'm so sorry! Can you post pictures of your set up?

 

[McChooky]

They'll move along once they figure out there are no more free chicken dinners. Some are smarter than others . Be persistent and vigilant when protecting your hens.It was always about you vs them!

 

[Duckloverathouse]

Ha Ha I am having the same problem only with ducks, if anybody knows how to keep predators away please tell me.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Do you have any signs of rodents? Urine, feces, burrows or unexplained holes? Are you feeding more than a quarter pound of feed per day to the hens, ignoring the roosters unless you have a lot of them? Wild birds coming in to steal chicken feed?

These two prey animals, wild birds and rodents, are the bulk of a fox's diet, rodents are the bulk of a snake's diet. The rodents leave a bright yellow trail when viewed with UV sensitive vision, raptors have it for sure, not sure about foxes. But foxes will be attracted to the scent of the urine as rodents constantly pee when they move about.

Remove the prey species first by stopping the feed theft. Your predators will no longer have a buffet set out for them and must hustle hard to survive on natural prey species that segregate into their own territories and limit their own numbers based upon the natural food available. Putting in a chicken feed buffet leads to all sorts of problems including increased predators that come for the rats and mice and stay for the chicken dinners.

 

[Daisy June]

Hi all,
So I have had my coop and chickens for about 3 years now and have never had an incident until this summer. We have had chicks and adult hens in that coop and nothing has shown interest until this year. I have had to deal with multiple snakes getting our chicks, I believe we had a fox come and drag one of our birds away, and just last night I think I had a raccoon get into the coop to kill our birds (then he politely left his poop behind for us to clean up). I have hardwire cloth down on the base of the run to prevent digging and just this past week we fully decked out the inside of the coop with hardwire cloth to prevent anything in there. I have an automatic door that opens and closes when I want and everything else is locked up. So far this summer I have lost 10 birds to predators. Is there something I am missing or do I just have terrible luck with chickens. I am planning to set a trap tonight and see if anything shows up in the morning but other than that I am at a loss. It is just very devastating and frustrating to see all of our efforts go to waste and have our girls get killed.

That has got to be a terrible feeling. It's not enough that you're loosing your chickens, but then not to know how to stop it on top of the loss. I remember when one of my daughters was in Ag and her project was chickens. She started with 4 hens and one after the other was being taken away some time during the nights--but the chickens' feet were always left in the yard. In the end, it was a raccoon--whose tail ended up as a trophy, and a warning, on the coop door. As it turns out, we found a small triangular-shaped area between the roof and the wall where we believe the raccoon was entering. It really was small, and I still find it amazing that something the size of a raccoon could fit itself (and its prey) through, but it seems so. Good luck finding the predators' secret passage.