Lost 4 birds this month to predator..........

[Dazey Mae]

After losing 4 chickens, one which I really liked, we got the traps.  We finally moved the trap into the Chickens pen and sure enough this morning there was a coon in there.  My DH took care of it with the 22.  Has anyone else been losing chickens suddenly.  There wasn't even a feather from the first three birds!

I should mention that we have two small coops, which each have a pen and then the birds have about a half of an acre that is also fenced in and surrounds everything, and they have brush so they can hide and stay cool in.

[mary51802]

Here is a surprise for you too Dazey,

I have for the first time had enough sun to plant sunflowers which I love dearly. Last week I noticed something had been literly ripping the heads off of them. At first I thought deer because the plants are over 6 feet, but this morning I saw 2 racoons pulling the stalks down and pulling the heads off and running for the woods.

I was shocked. No way to fight this I guess. Good luck!!!

[natvrabit]

Here is a surprise for you too Dazey,

I have for the first time had enough sun to plant sunflowers which I love dearly. Last week I noticed something had been literly ripping the heads off of them. At first I thought deer because the plants are over 6 feet, but this morning I saw 2 racoons pulling the stalks down and pulling the heads off and running for the woods.

I was shocked. No way to fight this I guess. Good luck!!!

First time I tried to grow corn, the coons got every bit of it.

[mary51802]

See I thought they went after fish and things, never figured them for garden raiders. My actual garden has a 5 foot fence around it but the sunflowers are out in the open. Oh well I will bag em next year.

[natvrabit]

See I thought they went after fish and things, never figured them for garden raiders. My actual garden has a 5 foot fence around it but the sunflowers are out in the open. Oh well I will bag em next year.

Yeah, they had my fish in my little water garden for their appetizer and the corn for the main course
I don't know how people manage to have free range fowl. People I know with pens shored up like central prison fencing still have had issues at times!

[wilsonmusic]

My chickens were ranging free until the foxes found them. Lost 4 hens & a rooster in just a few hours. I have a pretty large chicken house with roost and 40 nest. My chickens would go in at night and I would close and bolt the door. The next morning I would let them out. Between 8:00-10:00 am, the foxes struck. Now the chickens have to stay in all of the time. They eat much more food than they did when chasing grasshoppers and scratching for worms!! I have had trouble with raccoons in the past, but not lately. A raccoon will steal a bird and not leave a trace. Foxes leave feathers everywhere!

[Silk_Hope]

We have an electric fence wrapped with chicken wire around the garden the coons have not gotten the corn but some groundhogs have been there, one got shot with a .22, we are still looking for the others.

[seavey]

Knock wood all my girls are still with us.  My neighbors lost all of theirs to, I suspect, Possum (plenty of bloody remains left behind).  I still let them out during the day when I'm home but it's back to the chicken fortress every night.
 
We had a bad fox predation problem last year, but not so bad so far this year. 

Dazey, did you lose yours during the day? 

[Dazey Mae]

Knock wood all my girls are still with us.  My neighbors lost all of theirs to, I suspect, Possum (plenty of bloody remains left behind).  I still let them out during the day when I'm home but it's back to the chicken fortress every night.
 
We had a bad fox predation problem last year, but not so bad so far this year. 

Dazey, did you lose yours during the day? 

I believe we lost them during the day, but we caught the coon in the trap at night.  We close the coops at night.  In the past, we've had possum in the coops when we go to close the birds up at night. I bet the coons have been in the garden as well.   I was thinking about a little pond w/Koi fish, but hearing about mary51802 losing her fish, has me changing my mind to putting just plants in the pond.  Thank you for all the input and support.  It's nice to know that I'm not alone in dealing with the critters.  I will miss my little Silver Headed Frizzle Polish Hen, she was quite the character! RIP

[mary51802]

I am in the process of setting up for chikens as we are now in the country. The best setup I saw was the chicken house you close at night but a yard area that has chicken wire as a cover too. So I am getting some 6 foot 4x8.s so I can tack it in ceiling style and I hope that will keep all critters out! Sorry you lost a good one Dazey.

[seavey]

So sorry Dazey.  It's always a favorite, isn't it. 

[swchat]

Sorry to hear about you losing your chickens Dazey.  We would not have any of ours if we did not keep them in  wire covered pens with buildings for shelters, of course.
Do have ponds with koi and other fish  in them also.  Have to keep the ponds covered with the green plastic netting that has 2x2 inch mesh , I believe it is.  Hawks , cranes, coons, herons   and other critters will get those fish for sure but the netting is a pretty good bet  to keep the fish safe.
There's other ways to keep fish safe also like having  motion detector sprinkers, ONE crane statue by the pond, etc. 

[peace1]

I have some almost full grown guinea's, they can fly to trees, and thought they would be ok left out. They seem to like to "huddle" under the deck. I raised them in an old 10'x 12' dog pen, chicken wire on the inside 1/2 way up in addition to the chain length, and zip-tied a tarp on top. They want to stay in there and not in the yard unless I make them leave and shut the door. I know it's safer penned up, but do you with any guinea experience, think I do need to put them up at night?

[bluetick67]

I have some almost full grown guinea's, they can fly to trees, and thought they would be ok left out. They seem to like to "huddle" under the deck. I raised them in an old 10'x 12' dog pen, chicken wire on the inside 1/2 way up in addition to the chain length, and zip-tied a tarp on top. They want to stay in there and not in the yard unless I make them leave and shut the door. I know it's safer penned up, but do you with any guinea experience, think I do need to put them up at night?

I think others here have guinea experience, too...
For me, I had a couple that refused to be put up.  Lost one, and the other is happy now to be locked up at night with the rest, probably so it's not alone.  I've lost to raccoon and owl prior to having the same set up that you have, above, with an attached house as well.  At night, owls are the worst for roosting guineas, imo.

There is a gentlemen that lives about a mile from me whose guineas are free 24/7 and he hasn't lost one in four years.  Pretty amazing.

[belle]

I have some almost full grown guinea's, they can fly to trees, and thought they would be ok left out. They seem to like to "huddle" under the deck. I raised them in an old 10'x 12' dog pen, chicken wire on the inside 1/2 way up in addition to the chain length, and zip-tied a tarp on top. They want to stay in there and not in the yard unless I make them leave and shut the door. I know it's safer penned up, but do you with any guinea experience, think I do need to put them up at night?

I think others here have guinea experience, too...
For me, I had a couple that refused to be put up.  Lost one, and the other is happy now to be locked up at night with the rest, probably so it's not alone.  I've lost to raccoon and owl prior to having the same set up that you have, above, with an attached house as well.  At night, owls are the worst for roosting guineas, imo.

There is a gentlemen that lives about a mile from me whose guineas are free 24/7 and he hasn't lost one in four years.  Pretty amazing.

just curious, does he have dogs? the yappy, protective terrier type?

Seavey has pretty good luck with those.

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