predator advice

Hi All, We picked up 10 hens of various types from my aunt last week. They have been raised free ranging and getting egg layer AM and PM. We live on 10 VERY OPEN acres. Built them a decent size coop to keep them safe from predators. I am feeding egg layer AM and PM with a few treats like...

We have had the same (shepherd) dog jump our fence twice in the last two months taking out 25 chickens. He is very determined! We have now raised the fence to 6-8 feet in most areas but I’m hoping to put a roost out in our fully fenced pasture. Any suggestions and pictures yard roosts that are...

We are 4 months into our effort to raise chickens. So far it’s been working pretty well, until today. We have a nice sized coop that sits at the far end of a fenced in area that is about 4000 sq ft in total (the area, not the coop). We put up a wooden privacy fence in December for them to have...

I'm posting this for advice but also just to lament the loss of my Prairie Bluebell and Production Red. I did not know how absolutely devastated I would be. The red especially (named Red aka the Colonel) was the sweetest bird. She would run up and greet my husband when he got home from work. She...

I have several hens and one rooster. I usually let them free roam and haven’t had an incident in several years. We don’t have coyotes or foxes near here. I mostly cats, hawks, and possums. I went outside to check on the hens and noticed that there were a bunch of feathers thrown around near the...

Opened the coop today to see a dead pullet right by the door. She had some blood near her neck and upon further inspection I saw 3 tiny little holes in her neck. I'm assuming it's a predator that killed her. What could've done it and how do I prevent it from coming back?

Hello all. Long time no post here. Just lost my first pullet in a while to what clearly was a predator. Body is completely gone, no blood, only scattered and clearly torn out feathers left in her place. According to my dad he heard squawking last night, but he only told me this afternoon-ish...

Hi my name is Louie, and I started learning how to raise chickens at the beginning of the pandemic. I like in an unincorporated part of Indiana and have a little land and figured that if things really went south, that I could live off of chicken meat and eggs. I turned my shed into the coop, and...

Hi, I'm looking to add an additional layer of protection (predators) to my coop and run. I want to put 6 pallets as the flooring of my run, and in the middle put the coop already built. Build walls on the edges of the pallets and cover them with hardware cloth 1/2 inch. I have a few questions...

I thought I should share my Racoon Disaster because I thought my coop was safe. It was for about 20 years, and then it wasn't. The racoon climbed onto the top of my coop and did some acrobatic maneuvers to wedge himself between my rafter / ventilation space. He was able to get in and out the...

We found one of our chickens whose neck was stripped of all flesh and feathers but leaves a naked spine connected to a fully intact head and the breast down was perfectly fine aswell. This is the second time this has happened, the first time was either at night or early afternoon. The one we...

So I am getting ready to move. I have heard there are cougars in the area, and pretty sure one was spotted on the property last week. And I know there are raccoons, and weasels as well as I'm sure coyotes and Foxes. I've dealt with coyotes, Foxes, and possums at this current place. But how do I...

I woke up today to find out 3 of my 1 month olds were gone. And there were very small amount of feathers. I did find what looked to b a gut, wing, and some feathers attached to a skin in a circle n some other feathers outside but very little. The hole wasn’t that big, since I have a door...

Hello, predator question. We are in the country in Texas and let our ducks, chickens and Peafowl free range during the day. Left for a few hours and came back to 2 chickens, 2 ducks, and a peahen eaten. The only things left were many piles of feathers only. No parts at all. The peahen had...

just a few mins ago two geese came up in grabbing range (meaning I could legit bend down and pick them up if I wanted too) and stayed next to my ducks as you’ll see in the video. This is my 3-4th time ever having my ducks n the delta, they usually swim (with breaks) for 4 hours a day in the...

I live in the country on 5.5 acres and half is wooded with a pond. I keep my chickens in our barn which is in-between the woods and the pond. I've had a previous run in with a mink. We caught it and got rid of it. Besides a rooster and a guard dog, is there any other animals that would help in...

I have a chicken around 3-4 months old. It spends most of it's time outside just relaxing, eating, walking, and foraging. But recently I've seen it hang out with the neighborhood stray cat, the cat doesn't seem to show any malintent, it just lays down close to my chicken and watches it eat...

Hello chicken fam! I built a coop last weekend in my backyard in Colorado. We put pavers (12 by 12 inch cement squares) down as the foundation and then built the structure on top of that. Question: will predators be able to dig below the structure and push up the pavers to get to the birds...

1 month old duckling (Keith) was outside with his Momma and the rest of our muscovy flock (free range during daylight). We noticed that his Mom was fighting with another female in our flock. After breaking it up we found the baby on the other side of the barn hiding and wounded. We gave him a...

So a few months ago my father thought we had a nutria in the pond, based on the tell-tale bubbles from swimming underwater. I had never seen it This morning I saw our bit it seems to be a Texas River otter I know they are predators but have never dealt with one. The ducks are all large...