My grandfather always had chickens. It was a stable on his place. I asked him several times how he kept them safe. He told me several of the things he did to make sure that he always kept them safe. He learned this from mistakes he made over the years of lost hens and roosters not to mention the loss of all the eggs. So I remembered much of this and talked to several other people that have chickens and asking them for suggestions. I wanted to know everything I could before I got a flock of chickens so I would be prepared for all possibilities.
Where you live will determine what animals you have to deter to keep your birds safe.One of the possible predators you have will be raccoons, as they are just about everywhere in the USA. They can dig, climb and some have been known to turn knobs and even flip latches to open doors. Snakes and if you have weasels around the can fit through very same spaces in the fence and such. Coyotes and even dogs can jump fences and hawks and eagles will just fly into your coop. Some common predators are raccoons, coyotes, birds of prey (eagles and hawks), weasels, foxes, dogs, skunks, snakes, opossums, and even dogs and maybe even cats.
To keep these animals out you will need to build a strong coop to keep them out. You might have to raise your coop off the ground to keep them out, making a den underneath will give them a place to hide. Keep a cover over your coop to keep hawks and such out of the coop, if it is too big to cover trying fishing line strung across the run several times to help to stop them from flying in. If you have an open top and use fishing line turn the top of the fence back toward the outside to make it hard for climbers from getting in. Cover all the holes to keep snakes and weasels out, any little hole can be a possible way for them to get in. Always use a two-step lock to keep raccoons from opening it real easy.
You can try things like pie pans and old compact disks tied to a line and hung around to scare unwanted guests away. It might not always work but it could be worth a try.
The fence you use is important also, chicken wire is easy to bend and break it works great for keeping chickens in but no keeping predators out. Use welded wire fence and put some hardware cloth around the bottom about half way up the welded wire. Always use screws to fasten it to the frames and not staples as it will be easy for raccoons and such to pull them out to get in. Use hardware cloth on your window openings and bury some in the ground all the way around the coop to keep them from digging in.
Train your chickens to come to the house to roost at night and make sure it is locked up. Most of the animals that will attack your chickens will be nocturnal and are most likely to try to get a meal at night. If you free range your birds make sure they have a place to go for shelter and hide if they need to during the day. They have a poultry electric netting to keep them where you want them if you free range them and will keep some predators from getting at them. Keep in mind this is not going to keep hawks and eagles and such from getting to your chickens.
Get a rooster as they will fight off some predators and/or raise an alarm so you know something is going on. Guinea fowl and geese make go guardians also, a good herding dog will help keep predators away. Just be careful with just any dog some will chase them and kill them by accident, most herding dogs take their job very seriously.
Just be sure to get the coop and the house built and ready before you get your chickens. Get the chickens for the purpose you need or want. Do you want lots of eggs or a bird for meat or a good dual purpose bird? Stay tuned for that subject in my next post.
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