Showing posts with label Predators. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Predators. Show all posts
Do Skunks Eat Chickens?
Around Valentine's Day each year, skunks start to be top of mind for homeowners and chicken keepers alike. Why? It's mating time for skunks and their smell permeates the air. With these critters at the forefront, many wonder do skunks eat chickens? Do I need to worry about skunks?
How to Protect Chickens From Owls
Owls aren't the biggest threat to chickens, but they can sometimes pose a threat so it's good to know how to keep your flock safe. Learn how to keep owls away from chickens and how to appreciate the benefits owls have on the farm.
How to Keep Hawks Away from Chickens
Top 5 Ways to Thwart Aerial Chicken Predators
Have you been experiencing a problem with flying predators like hawks and owls? This can be heartbreaking and frustrating and can make you feel helpless, but you're not. There are ways to help keep hawks away from backyard chickens.
On a personal note, this subject is near and dear to my heart. I have experienced one confirmed loss and a couple of close calls with hawks harassing my backyard chickens. Whether it's summer or you're in the midst of winter chicken keeping hawks are year-round predators.
Domestic Chicken Predators: Do Dogs and Cats Kill Chickens?
We worry about wild animals killing our chickens, but what about dogs and cats? Do dogs and cats kill chickens? Simply put, yes. But there's more to the story and it varies depending on the culprit. Cats are not top of the list for killing adult chickens, but dogs are another matter. Dog problems can happen fast, be devastating and sometimes pit neighbor against neighbor. It's important for backyard flock owners to know the laws around dogs killing chickens and how to make sure your birds stay safe.
A Guide to Common Owl Species
No matter where you live, even the suburbs, you've most likely got some resident owls around your house and backyard. This field guide shows identifying features and behaviors to common owl species so you know who’s who and how to attract owls by making your homestead owl-friendly. If you've got chickens, you can protect your birds from owls in much the way you know how to protect chickens from hawks.
A Summer of Chicken Predators
Our chicken coop is no stranger to predators. We’re always on the lookout and it’s been a while since anything bad occurred. According to Murphy’s Law, we started having problems with a raccoon a few days before leaving on vacation. But, while we were gone, our chicken sitters humanely dispatched that problem and no chickens were harmed.
Then we came home one day to find a pile of feathers on our hillside and a chicken dead in our swimming pool. This was disturbing because we’ve had our pool for three years with no incident. For our chicken to get into the pool, she would have to work hard to fly in there.
A few nights after this, I went to close the coop and do my usual headcount. We were missing one! I searched all over but it got so dark that I had to give up and hope she decided to roost out for the night. In the morning, I found a pile of feathers right next to our fence. I knew she wouldn’t be coming home; but had to wonder, what had gotten our hen.
The next day it was hot, so in the afternoon my kids and I checked
on the chickens. We noticed our rooster, Roopert and his favorite hen had
gotten out of the fence and were under our screened-in porch. This happens a
lot since Roopert has a mind of his own.
We were back inside no more than five minutes and we heard a horrible squawking from Roopert. We rushed outside and there he was; where we’d left him, minus his favorite hen.
As we secured the chickens and did a headcount, I noticed a pile of feathers just down from where Roopert had been standing.
Since this last kill was under our porch and the pile of feathers was the same, I quickly ruled out an avian predator. After a little research, I found out we had a fox preying on our chickens. They are stealthy animals and ours had probably been stalking our chickens for weeks. They often leave little evidence other than a pile of feathers.
Once we had the big picture, it was easy to see what had happened at our pool; a hen escaped an attack only to land wrongly in the water. But, why was this happening now. What was different? We had recently had some yard work done and our front gate was down. None of these attacks took place in our yard proper and our chickens often roam freely outside the fences. I think the deciding factor was that our fox was emboldened since our dog wasn’t in the yard as much because her fence was gone. So we quickly replaced our gate, our dog returned to her watch post and there were no more attacks.
After the recent disappearance of Broody Brood, we’re now down to 17 chickens, thanks to our summer, and fall, of predators. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping for a strong finish to the fall season!
Then we came home one day to find a pile of feathers on our hillside and a chicken dead in our swimming pool. This was disturbing because we’ve had our pool for three years with no incident. For our chicken to get into the pool, she would have to work hard to fly in there.
A few nights after this, I went to close the coop and do my usual headcount. We were missing one! I searched all over but it got so dark that I had to give up and hope she decided to roost out for the night. In the morning, I found a pile of feathers right next to our fence. I knew she wouldn’t be coming home; but had to wonder, what had gotten our hen.
We were back inside no more than five minutes and we heard a horrible squawking from Roopert. We rushed outside and there he was; where we’d left him, minus his favorite hen.
As we secured the chickens and did a headcount, I noticed a pile of feathers just down from where Roopert had been standing.
Since this last kill was under our porch and the pile of feathers was the same, I quickly ruled out an avian predator. After a little research, I found out we had a fox preying on our chickens. They are stealthy animals and ours had probably been stalking our chickens for weeks. They often leave little evidence other than a pile of feathers.
Once we had the big picture, it was easy to see what had happened at our pool; a hen escaped an attack only to land wrongly in the water. But, why was this happening now. What was different? We had recently had some yard work done and our front gate was down. None of these attacks took place in our yard proper and our chickens often roam freely outside the fences. I think the deciding factor was that our fox was emboldened since our dog wasn’t in the yard as much because her fence was gone. So we quickly replaced our gate, our dog returned to her watch post and there were no more attacks.
After the recent disappearance of Broody Brood, we’re now down to 17 chickens, thanks to our summer, and fall, of predators. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping for a strong finish to the fall season!
A Snapping Turtle Visitor
I guess you never know when a snapping turtle is going to stop by for a visit. The flock was certainly curious. I was excited to see this magnificent snapping turtle, but a little fearful. Snapping turtles are great, but better left alone.
We have ponds around us, but not on our property. I assume this turtle was just on his/her way to another pond, but the chickens had never seen a snapping turtle (and probably never will again!).
Snapping turtles aren't traditional chicken predators, but they can do a lot of damage as curious chickens get near. Luckily, the flock was in its fenced run and couldn't get near the snapping turtle.
I didn't want to take chances though, so after lots of encouragement, the snapping turtle decided to double-back and leave the chickens alone.
We have ponds around us, but not on our property. I assume this turtle was just on his/her way to another pond, but the chickens had never seen a snapping turtle (and probably never will again!).
Snapping turtles aren't traditional chicken predators, but they can do a lot of damage as curious chickens get near. Luckily, the flock was in its fenced run and couldn't get near the snapping turtle.
I didn't want to take chances though, so after lots of encouragement, the snapping turtle decided to double-back and leave the chickens alone.
The Rest of the Story...
My chickens are currently safe in their coop/run drying off after a morning of roaming our yard and playing in the rain. So, with chicken chores done for the day, I wanted to finish the story of our original 19 chickens and how we came to have only seven.
You already know about the hawk attacks on two. Our flock leader died of unknown causes. The other nine died of an attack by stray dogs. In one way, we were lucky that day. My kids were not in our yard when this happened and neither was our dog. Unfortunately, our flock was busy scratching and pecking throughout the yard. My husband came home and said there was a chicken dead on the drive and I went out to investigate only to find many more bodies strewn everywhere. And, I saw a dog running down our driveway with a chicken in its mouth. We immediately rounded up the remaining chickens and put them in their coop. We treated two chickens who suffered cuts and eventually had to put down one chicken who was unable to use her legs.
I know this all seems horrific and not very fun. But I think its important that backyard chicken owners are aware of the dangers posed by roaming dogs. When we talked with the people at our local feed supply store, they said these types of attacks are common and probably one of the leading causes of chicken deaths. Natural predators like hawks and foxes will often take one or two chickens and leave behind little evidence. But, dogs kill more for the sport leaving carnage in their wake.
Our backyard is fenced and to this day, I'm still not sure how the dogs got through, but once they did, the results were devastating. Since many of us live in neighborhoods, roaming dogs can be one of the biggest threats we face. So, if you've got a flock of backyard chickens, check those fences and always be on the lookout.
You already know about the hawk attacks on two. Our flock leader died of unknown causes. The other nine died of an attack by stray dogs. In one way, we were lucky that day. My kids were not in our yard when this happened and neither was our dog. Unfortunately, our flock was busy scratching and pecking throughout the yard. My husband came home and said there was a chicken dead on the drive and I went out to investigate only to find many more bodies strewn everywhere. And, I saw a dog running down our driveway with a chicken in its mouth. We immediately rounded up the remaining chickens and put them in their coop. We treated two chickens who suffered cuts and eventually had to put down one chicken who was unable to use her legs.
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| Our Original Flock |
I know this all seems horrific and not very fun. But I think its important that backyard chicken owners are aware of the dangers posed by roaming dogs. When we talked with the people at our local feed supply store, they said these types of attacks are common and probably one of the leading causes of chicken deaths. Natural predators like hawks and foxes will often take one or two chickens and leave behind little evidence. But, dogs kill more for the sport leaving carnage in their wake.
Our backyard is fenced and to this day, I'm still not sure how the dogs got through, but once they did, the results were devastating. Since many of us live in neighborhoods, roaming dogs can be one of the biggest threats we face. So, if you've got a flock of backyard chickens, check those fences and always be on the lookout.
Defending Chickens from Predators
The weather yesterday was beautiful with lots of sun and temps in the 50's, so we decided to let our chickens out of their enclosed run into our backyard. That's where our chickens love to be, since they've been raised free-range. Just as I let them out; however, I noticed two red tail hawks circling overhead. (I know I said I'd tell you how we lost chickens and this is one of those stories. We had two chickens taken by hawks last year - an ameracauna and a white leghorn. We also had a near-miss with a white leghorn over the winter. In fact, I've attached a picture of the feather marks (and leghorn feathers) left in the snow by our arial predator.) Aware of the danger, I also didn't want to deny the chickens a great day of foraging. So, I decided to break out our halloween scarecrows and put them in visible spots throughout the yard. This worked really well and I plan to keep moving the scarecrows to fool the hawks further. Wish me luck!
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| Hawk wings left imprints in the snow along with Leghorn feathers and signs of a scuffle. |
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