chicken protection help

[Bowie Mike]

Put some sand down and smooth it out in the likely funnel/travel areas - maybe with some bait. You will have some clear tracks. Used this to ID the neighbors cat a long time ago.

 

[Bushman5]

if you really want to fortify the coop, dig out the base and lay heavy steel mesh flat on the ground, about 1' down. Tie it in to the vertical walls, then recover and flatten the base drainage gravel and soil. Put upright stakes every 2 feet and get them down about 4'.

we had coons a plenty in our chicken shed as a kid. Only thing that stopped them from buorrowuing from the install of the heavy mesh below the shed.

 

[Iboschi]

Thank you for not drowning an animal.
You can try to kill everything in site but it won't fortify your coop. If you can, watch to see what kind of animal is getting into the coop and how.... not suggesting you allow your chickens to be harmed tho. You'll be that much wiser re coop safety and be able to take steps to prevent future entries. Go learn from this situation and outsmart the creatures.

I don't have chickens right now but did some research because I wanted to raise my own. A few things I remember reading about keeping chickens safe: make sure the top is closed off to keep out the climbers and birds of prey( I never thought of owls!), use small mesh to keep out raccoon paws because they will pull a chicken through piece by piece, and sink the mesh into the ground many inches to deter burrowing animals. There are numerous other suggestions on various chicken forums.... go practice your Google-fu.
I lost a pet to wild animals and 10+ yrs later it still stings. I had to take my hurt and guilt and smarten my ass up about what lives in my woods and accept that the wild creatures are doing what they do... surviving.... and that they are not plotting against me. I'd have rather learned this w/o the death of my pet but life slapped me hard one winter. I adapted the way I live here and continue to learn from the animals that share these woods with me, wild AND stray domestics. They have amazing survival skills.

+1
I've found that eliminating the varmint doesn't solve the issue. The damn things will keep coming back (in all likelihood). Outsmarting is the real solution. Best of luck.

 

[jw2n]

How about setting up a video camera. You can get them dirt cheap now. Even the ones with some IR ability are low priced. You could hook it up to just about any analog or digital recorder if you so desired.

 

[August West]

Don't know where your at but I bought my live trap at Tractor Supply for a good price and have caught lots of coons and possums with it. I use sardines for bait and it hasn't missed yet. Chris

 

[fnc]

How about setting up a video camera. You can get them dirt cheap now. Even the ones with some IR ability are low priced. You could hook it up to just about any analog or digital recorder if you so desired.

Do these cameras have a trigger, infrared or otherwise; or do you just record the entire
evening and night?

 

[Horn Dog]

I remember snakes and foxes getting after the chickens. But when we heard them squawking, my grandma would take her Winchester 22 and kill something. She never missed. From the sound of it, you have a toy Chupacabra out there. Somewhere. In the night.

 

[jw2n]

The surveilance cameras I am used to do not have a motion sensor, and run continually. If the animal is small it may not trigger a sensor anyway. The last one I played with was wired to a VCR and could record 6 hours on SLP. It was used to find out what was using one of the small dog doors in a regular door. Racoon was using it to access the dogfood and then go on his merry way. This was a long time ago at a friends house. We set up a small red bulb in order to provide enough light for the camera to operate.

 

[Plainsman]

My first guess was a weasel as well! We always had chickens on the farm while I was growing up and weasel's were fowl enemy #1!! If it isn't a weasel, then skunk or coon are next in line but don't forget about fox too! All three do some horrendous damage to ground nesting birds up here!!

 

[warrigal]

It is a common thing here for the local ( by that I mean the pound city councill) Loans safe traps for free.
Does that happen where you are?
Worth a ph. call.
Carl

 

[angle iron]

Our local humane society does lend HAH traps. I borrowed one and had it set near the coop for several days with the bait remaining untouched (tried tuna, mackerel, sardines and cat food). I also spent some time watching the coop at night. There have been no more incidents since the one that prompted this thread and I have increase the security of the coop with sturdier locks which are now used every night. There have also been no signs of attempted entry to the coop nor any tracks in the area. Thee has been an owl repeatedly seen in the area of the coop and also hanging around our fence, trees and roof. I don't know if owls would go for the eggs but he is currently my number one suspect for the chupacabra. I like raptors and owls in particular so even if it was he, he will not be harmed. Thanks all for your suggestions and help!

 

[Toucan Oasis]

I'll have to take a few pictures of my chicken setup.They're in the middle of the rainforest and impervious to anything. Coyotes were a big problem but my American Bulldogs cut the population back and they don't come around any more. Snakes were such a problem I had to cut little pieces of cedar to go under each corrugation of the tin.
Open the cage, look in and see a six foot Boa resting with a bug lump...unable to get back out.:thumbup: