5 common chicken predators | and 10 ways to stop them
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- Опубліковано 6 чер 2024
- Where we live in Missouri we deal with 5 persistent predators which isn't great when your choice so to give your chickens a free range life. Based on our own experiences i'm going to walk you through how to understand what's stealing your flock and 10 protection methods to protect your poultry and minimise losses.
Topics covered in this video:
Racoons 1.30
Birds of Prey / Owls 8.00
Fox 10.48
Coyote 14.00
Bob Cat 16.46
10 methods for dealing with predators 18.18 - Навчання та стиль
An old trapper told me that a golden delicious apple was his favourite raccoon bail. He said take a bite out of it so they can smell it.
Biggest issue we’ve had is our neighbor’s dogs. Neighbor’s dog to our left killed our dog. Neighbor’s dog on our right massacred our chickens :/ always thought I’d be dealing with wild predators when I bought land, but nope...just neighbors, same as the suburbs 🤦♀️
A pet hate i have is when dogs aren’t given good boundaries for the safety of themselves and other people. What happened to you is an irresponsible people problem not a dog problem… so sorry 😣
@@TheLittlePalletFarmhouse When our neighbor's dogs are out, I keep our girls in the run. We have a fenced in yard with wire, but they are Labs and could clear the fence without breaking a sweat. They are very interested in anything in our yard. Honestly, I still don't trust our own 11yo dog (a Bassadore) even though he is incredibly chill and seems to view them as part of our pack. You just never know. 🥴
I can relate my family used to keep rabbits and majority of the times we lost them it was the neighbors labs and Huskies sneaking over and killing them. The neighbors solution was a big kennel but they weren't kept in it all the time or they'd escape. Irresponsible pet owners especially in the countryside from my experiences like to wrongly assume they can let dogs wander freely but they actually need to train them to the property boundaries and to not attack/chase the livestock.
This is unfortunate, we have spent quite a bit of money to put up high fence and gates to keep our dogs in, even though they are not runners, but to protect them and our neighbours dog ( a little aggressive dog) safe, if it came into our yard and attacked our dog I would hate for one of my dogs to hurt it in defence. Living in the country where we do, a lot of us have dogs and most try very hard to make sure none of our dogs are a nuisance to each other. Killing another dog is not acceptable. I'm sorry you have had to experience that.
How do you know it was your neighbors dogs? Video? Or did you see? What did the dog do to the chicken?
Thank you for a great video.
Thank you so much for your guidance. I’m new to chickens though not new to farm life. Wish I were much younger and with extra helping hands. Am in Tennessee on about 30 acres but it’s rapidly changing from rural land to development, breaks my heart to lose the natural night sky, unrestricted free flowing streams and springs, and flora and fauna. I had 5 different dogs in my yard this morning from surrounding neighbors, some I have never seen before, because my young dog has come into her first heat and can’t be allowed out without supervision and on a leash. My 6 hens only produced 1 egg, I suspect it’s the presence of the strange dogs. I’m also concerned about pesticides and herbicides being applied willy-nilly to my property by ignorant or uncaring neighbors who want to have the city in the country. I long for the old days when wildlife was all I had to be concerned about.
That sounds challenging! Yes i agree that your chickens probably get stressed with the presence of strange dogs. Are you allowed to put up a portable electric fence ? Premiere1 supplies on line have this all in one net that keeps chickens in a safe place for free ranging while keeping other animals at a safe distance!
You two are a Beautiful Couple, Thank-you for sharing it was helpful 🙏✝️🙏
awww thank you for your sweet encouragement 🥰
I am sorry you lost so many of your birds. I recently got chickens. I had watched several of my UA-cam friends who had chickens so I watched all of their learn from our mistakes videos. So thankfully I have been obsessed with protecting my chickens and rooster. We got a new metal barn and we are going to be building a predator proof run very strong we also have all of the same predators plus a mountain Lion so we have to be sure. Thank you for sharing Happy Holidays! Wendy⛄️🎄
Oh Gosh Wendy ! I just read your comment!! You have mountain Lions??? where do you live?!?!?
@@TheLittlePalletFarmhouse we are in Historic Guthrie, Oklahoma. I never knew there was mountain lions until I was grown. I have seen them on friends trail cams. We had one on our farm we got pictures of the paw print. Neighbors warn us when they have been spotted. Very concerning. Stay safe!
@@hardnackfarms1736 that gives me chills!! A few people say they have seen them here but its rare… most locals figure they may “pass through “ maybe migrating south for winter 🤷🏼♀️ i think i would pass out if i saw one 😂 - lately ive been loosing ducks to what i think might be an owl or some aerial predators… we lost our beloved dog last week so we are once again undefended 🫣 - stay safe and warm out there !!
Thanks for the tips.
aww your welcome! thanks for watching!
@@TheLittlePalletFarmhouse We started our chicken flock for the first time. we got 21 chicks and one turned out to be a rooster. It's been 16 weeks and so far we've only lost one hen with no trace of what predator took it.
@@jandoinc urgh so sorry. From my experience you're probably looking at fox or a bird of prey. We got a livestock guardian dog last year and things have been much improved since then but we have a fox family in our woods somewhere and we see them skirting the edge of our property to go for the rabbits on the next door farm but once in a while they come try their luck with our chickens! Its an ongoing battle!!
Thank you for the wonderful tips and I need to make some changes. My birds are great escape artists who are letting me know the vulnerabilities of my coop. I haven’t had any losses yet but my neighbor has had several birds disappearing. We have hawks and an owl. Have you thought about predator urine? Someone suggested that.
I like how you put that !!! Yes it doesn't take long to see how predators can find a way in. Since making this video we have a puppy and he's doing his "scenting job" well but i honestly don't know that i would rely on that alone - we've had a fox visiting ( since we got the pup) - i think when predators are desperate and hungry they are willing to compromise their own life to survive right ?!!! We still have our girls free ranging at times but we realise its part of the risk. Our guineas are pretty good watch dogs and sound the alarm any time something is a miss. That has helped me too !
Thank you for the tips this helps alot. I was curious, do you guys free range?? I really wanna free range but I wanna be smart about letting them just be free.
We free range as much as we can, we find that in early spring predator pressure is greater so we only let them out for a few hours late afternoon- we also recently got a livestock guardian dog and he has been a big help at keeping wildlife away!
excellent
thankyou !!
We have had Fox, Bobcat, and Bald Eagles. The Bald Eagle was mainly the ducks. The bobcat, last winter, made entry and killed everything. 12 layers and 7 ducks.
Thanks , very helpful just had my Barnevelder Pullet s wiped out. Have an open top run with no problems until i put my young pullets in it. No trace of them.....just feathers, no feet no heads a small part of a gut. Got all 7 the one survivor squeezed into the pen next door that has a top netting.From your video must be bird of prey? what can eat that many young pullets that had grown their first feathers weight about 9oz. putting on a top today.
So sorry to hear this, that is devastating and I can relate completely. So crazy that all 7 gone with no trace. Fox can scale fences and will take whole bird but not sure he would come back so quick for the rest. It does sound like something from the sky... maybe put up a trail cam as whatever it was will surely come back. Hope you get to the bottom of it.
Don’t have mercy on Racoons they will kill for fun!!!
i learned that lesson the hard way - that baby was so cute i couldn't help it- why do they look so cute!
We've had almost everything come and take chickens. Here we have to deal with raccoons, foxes, coyotes, weasels, fishers, owls, hawks and eagles, all of which we have seen in the day, as well as the night. We did have a Maremma/Great Pyrenees dog, she was fantastic at keeping away a lot of predators and was very good with our chickens (our rooster and her were best friends, they even slept together), but they tend to cover a large area of ground and so she roamed a lot, most of our neighbours loved and appreciated having her around but not all, so when she passed away we changed to Bernese mountain dogs, they are home bodies, but don't guard. We have tried chickens multiple times and every time I think about getting them again, the fox comes around right up to the house to remind me that he is ready. I would like to have chickens again but this time we have to have a bullet proof plan, any help is appreciated.
Put a driveway motion sensor by the coop. it will beep in your house when a animal shows up at knight. 20 bucks. don't run with a loaded gun.
I think we might never sleep!!! When it snows i get to see ALL the footprints in the garden! eek... since this video we have an LGD and he has been worth his weight in GOLD!!
You guys are interesting
i'm not sure if thats positive or negative? lol!
If predators kills your chickens. It’s your fault.. it is up to you to keep your chickens safe.
We keep them as safe as possible without keeping them locked in a cage their entire life which is not good for their well being.
Just like it is your fault when traffic kills a family member when crossing the street... We are all learning and adapting to our environment to the best of our abilities, but there are no guarantees. It's called life.
I had a chicken go missing there was feathers everywhere but no body or blood
It's always the favorite chicken that gets wacked. Lost mine this morning
Oh nooooo so sorry 😣 a fox?
@The Little Pallet Farmhouse not sure. 5 eggs gone. Hen just had her butt tore up and some intestines hanging out.
It may be many
We have tried to let chickens free range in the yard during the day but the fox snatched them one at a time. The chickens wouldn’t go in the coop one night and hid from me under the deck. They were all taken by coyotes that night.
But our Muscovy ducks have never been bothered.
Our known predators:
Mink, opossum, raccoon, hawk, eagle, owl, weasel, fox, coyote, stray dog, bobcat. Less likely: bear & panther.
And Skunk
@@MegaOzzy28 oh, and snapping turtles! We have a big one and some smaller ones and they are horrible.
My lord, talk about a challenging environment...
We've actually had huge turkey vultures fly down pick up a full grown ground hog dead IN a coni-bear trap 16:48 picked up still in the trap & carry both off. Believe me my chickens are basically in a brinks truck coop. 😂😂 They'll work if they do get in.
WOWSERS!! I'm just glad the vultures go for the dead stuff !! Thats crazy!
Always trust your husband!
or else !! :-)))
@@TheLittlePalletFarmhouse and obey him.
Except when he's wrong. Lol
Yep...you need to form a united front : )
My (dominant) Australorp Rooster was attacked the other day in the chicken run, I felt absolutely terrible : /
His feet were bleeding pretty bad & one side of his head was a bit mauled..I think it was a cat.
He's a tough bird & would give his life for his girls..I used peroxide/water, then put triple antibiotic ointment on side he was mauled on He's fine now Praise God 🙏✝️🙏
Nice video thanks for the great info , dont forget about the Stoats belong to the same mustelid family as weasels and ferrets. They're bigger than weasels and smaller than ferrets, and they have a bushy tail with a black tip. They are all a problem 👍🏽 oh , n i love Bobs , but your farm doesn’t,
thank you! Yes a few people have mentioned Stoats - i'm sure we have them but i haven't seen evidence of them ( i don't think!!) We just heard that Missouri conservation dept have started reintroducing bears here !! - more fun :-/
Not all dogs kill chickens. My neighbors chickens were free ranging chickens. She kept saying my dogs were killing her chickens with no proof other than the chickens being dead with its neck muscle missing. It was not my dogs. The rest of her chickens ended up living at my house with my dogs protecting them. And I have a fenced yard. She called the animal control on me. When she thought it was my dogs. It ended up being hawks that killed her birds. She caused me unwanted stress I did not ask for. I should call on her with her 10 horses on 3 acres.
Nursing mother raccoons forage during the daylight hours
hmmm - i never knew that! Interesting !!
Well nocturnal animals come out in the day if theyre hungry or feeding their young.
yes i heard the same, also when they are ill or injured. But fox seem to be more sun rise and sun down type of animal, not sure about nocturnal!
@@TheLittlePalletFarmhouse oh ya lol me either actually lol
I’ve seen an owl land in a tree next to a young rooster and ran him off the roost and had him when he hit the ground
i've heard that Owls take guineas from trees the same way. We don't let ours roost in the trees, or i'm sure we would have none left!
I just heard one of our guineas screaming as she was taken by an owl 😢
oh no that is so sad - birds of pray are the hardest predator of all 😞
lost 8 guineas to a great horned owl theyd roost in the trees
It’s a vicious kill!
TRUTH!!!
Netting, pellet rifle and a couple dogs
Why do you not have dogs that are trained to defend your land?
We do now! We actually got a great pyr last year and he’s been awesome! We still get hawks and fox attempts but its been way less casualties!
I live on 300 acres surrounded by a national forest . I have a small animals farm rescue , and do have many chickens which form I sell eggs . But I also have 11 akbash dogs that attack and kill anything that comes in property .
11 Akbash? wowsers... they must eat a lot of food!! We got our Great Pyr last year. He's been awesome
Maybe the other chickens killed it. Meek, Wetzel, rat, some ideas.
You should move your flock out of the woods and close to a light source.
I live in an urban bay area city and every day I see a bunch of vultures circling my backyard 😰
As far as Fox and coyotes you may not like it but I can tell you how to get rid of them
always open to learning from the wisdom of others!
@@TheLittlePalletFarmhouse a little hamburger meat and a broken bottle broke up real fine mixed into in they will take the easy meal first it’s cruel but I’ve seen it done
@@billgates6995 eish - That wouldn't sit well with my conscience ...we also have to keep our own dog safe too so any poison or foot traps aren't an option here. Since we got our LGD things have been much improved and soon we will be moving the coops to a grass paddock where samson will patrol the fenceline.. will have a vid out on him soon - he's been such a great addition to the farm!
@@TheLittlePalletFarmhouse yeah not for everybody I’ve seen guys do it it’s cruel definitely glad you have it worked out
Poor chickens never get any sunlight?😖😠
why would you say that? clearly you don't follow our channel! plus we live in a region where they need protection from the harsh sun when it regularly hits burning 90degrees!
Wrong type of trap. You need a Duke’s dog proof raccoon trap.
THIS LADY NEEDS TO LEARN TO TALK INTO THE MICROPHONE!
back in the days when i didn't have a microphone ( or couldn't afford one!!)
you need to speak up, I could not hear you
we are slowly improving our tech!! I listen back to some older videos and what you think you did well at the time seems awful!!! Learning!!
You don’t have a dog, or two or three (a little pack)? Yeah canines will help deter several of the predators you’ve been dealing with. Get a donkey instead, they hate canines like foxes and coyotes, haha.
we were waiting on our LGD puppy when i made this video, we've had him a year now and he's made the biggest difference!! We still have fox and hawks who try their luck ( we live in the woods so will never get away from it) but Samson has been a Godsend!!
@@TheLittlePalletFarmhouse we live in the country but not the woods. We have a chain link fenced back yard, then a chick run with hen house and netting over the top. While we have two dogs, they are not roaming the property all night but I think the scent of the dogs and the chain link fence help to deter coyotes and foxes. I still have concerns about raccoons. Your situation is clearly more difficult to navigate. I wish you all the best of luck with you flock. I’d be absolutely heart broken to find my little flock decapitated. I fear raccoons the most.
If you're going to have livestock it's best to have outside cats and dogs to control the rodents and other critters that are going to be looking for food