Predator Deterrents Around the Coop...Hopefully They Work!!!

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

Everything eats chicken. They taste good and are very easy targets. Since my flock has gotten much larger, I now have a bigger target in my yard for predator attacks.

Last week I lost four birds...but there were no bodies left behind and only a few feathers left on the ground. One of my greatest fears might be happening...I might be dealing with a larger predator stealing my birds.

During the six years of having chickens, I've gotten used to several types of predators. It's pretty easy to figure out who the attacker is based on the feathers left behind, the parts of the chicken that are eaten and uneaten, the time of day of the attack, and how many birds are killed.

Raccoons and hawks have been my main predators on the farm. Raccoons normally strike at night and hawks normally strike during the day. Both predators almost always leave the bodies of the chickens behind after they have eaten most of it.

Since I'm pretty sure the responsible "bad guy" of my missing chickens is not a raccoon or hawk, all signs led to a larger predator.

A fox or a coyote grabs chickens during the day or night, and quickly carries the bird to another part of the property to eat them. They hardly leave behind a trace of the attack. Because I have so many birds now, I'm not sure how many hens were actually stolen before my four special hens were taken. Whatever predator it is, it seems to go after my smaller Bantam chickens and my slightly smaller chicks called pullets. Three of them disappeared back to back last week. But, when my peanut butter-loving hen named Poppy disappeared without a trace, I knew I had a BIG problem (I'm so sorry to her previous owner, Jeane! She was the friendliest chicken with the sweetest personality).

Last Friday, my free ranging flock would not leave the safety of the chicken coop. They hid inside the enclosed roosting section all day until around noon. This was very strange. Normally my yard is speckled with a hundred chickens spotted all around the yard. They do not like being cooped up together in a small space.

After losing four chickens that week, I was worried. I took treats outside trying to get them to eat. The chickens would not come when I called, and would not eat the treats I put on the ground. This was even stranger....my girls LOVE to eat! Looking up at the trees, I didn't see any hawks or eagles. My dog and I walked through the woods. I didn't see any raccoons, skunks, or minks. Whatever the chickens were scared of is an excellent hider. This makes me think that a sneaky fox has finally found the chickens.

Normally I love foxes! They are beautiful creatures! But, I've also read they are one of the more tricky predators to get rid of. A fox is one of the smartest predators and will secretly stalk their prey for weeks before attacking. They are experts at camouflage and can also fit inside very small hiding places in the woods. And the worst thing I discovered, a fox won't stop attacking a flock of chickens until every last one of them are eaten.

After doing a bit of hurried research, I discovered some things I could do around my coop to deter this large predator from getting close to my girls.

If anyone has any more ideas, I would love to hear your comments!!!

Kelly's Predator Deterrents

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1. My dog and I have been walking through the woods every day, leaving our scent all over the yard. I'm very loudly stomping with my scary elephant feet while we are walking, stepping on sticks, screaming when I get scratched by the thorny branches. The bad guy definitely knows I'm outside.

Skye, my ferocious hound dog....everything is absolutely not terrified of her, haha!

2. Skye, my dog, has been going out at all hours of the day barking at the woods. This is not normal for her. She isn't a good attack dog, and normally doesn't bark too much. I'm hoping her barking will scare this bad guy away.

3. Pee! This may be a bit TOO MUCH INFORMATION, but the three boys in my house are no longer allowed to use the toilets inside. I've told them to pee around the coop and around the woods to "mark their territory". Unfortunately, the boys in my house only pee like two times a day...so this is going a bit slower than I want. Come on boys, we've got a lot of ground to cover!

My Boom Box From The 90s

4. Radio: I've added an old radio inside my coop. I found a slow jazz radio station where the radio hosts spend most of their time speaking about music and plays very little songs. The volume is turned up so anything walking around the woods can hear human voices inside my coop.

The Chicken Tunnel

5. I've added a chicken tunnel in front of the coop. This tunnel is confusing for all predators because only the chickens know how to go through it (they went through special Kelly training, haha). The tunnel is covered with hawk safe netting, so the only way through the tunnel is through the opening. The netting is hard to see, especially if the predator is chasing a chicken very fast. I'm hoping the tunnel with the netting will frustrate any predators and keep them from entering the chicken run.

   
   

The chickens, thankfully, are not terrified of my scarecrows.

6. Scarecrows: I found two, large metal scarecrows at Hobby Lobby. They also look like little kids standing right beside the entrance of my coop. Predators do not like coming close to anything looking like a person.

7. Hanging, Glittery, Reflective Things on a Shepherd's Hook: I added these to cause confusion, especially to flying predators. The shiny things make it harder to see hens in the yard.

Since I've added they predator deterrents around the coop, my girls have been speckled all throughout my yard again. They don't seem to be as scared as they were last week. I'm hoping I've outsmarted this fox, but time will tell.

Thanks for reading my Country Squawk,

Kelly