Chicken carnage

[tcreeley]

I had a young fox trying to find away to get to the two scared chickens on the other side of the page wire fence. I saw him through the window and stepped out onto the deck. I hollered at the fox, he looked at me and ran off. I never saw him again. That was a year and a half ago.
Dogs work to keep critters away. Dogs also bark, and that wakes you up, to get out there.
I like the night alert for raccoon and skunks. But I am not sure I would depend on it. I lock them in the coop every night.

 

[nybirdman]

I raise ringneck pheasant,1000 or so every year.On your mobile chicken tractor use a Solar fencer and purchase the six inch plastic extensions,install one line at six inches and another at a foot.I used to lose a lot of birds to predators,this cured the land based ones for sure.
The poly weave wire is very easy to work with.One fencer should work with a number of tractors,just tie them together.

 

[TnAndy]

We build our chicken tractors a bit heavier than those. 4x4 on the bottom, with 2x4 welded wire + chicken wire up the side walls. I've found raccoons can part regular chicken wire and make themselves a door in.

The other thing I live about this design is I can walk inside to catch, clean, feed, whatever.

This version has a pair of nesting boxes built in the back:

For traps, I use Conibear neck snapping traps, set in a bucket. Never fails to get predators.

Large raccoon just before the lights went out on him.

 

[whistlepig]

We don't have chickens here but our neighbors do. We have a lot of foxes around here. And a lot of raccoon's. Last two big chicken kills close to home here were racoons. The neighbors shoot raccoon's on site. I have never heard of them blaming the foxes. Not on penned chickens anyway.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Live trap had a skunk inside this morning. I doubt a skunk would have killed all those chickens but in any event, one less potential spraying of our dog... The animal in the live trap reminded me of my brother-in-law who used to trap the occassional raccoon in his. He would often relocate them to one of the more prestigious neighborhoods in the area believing the coons deserved a better life. :laughing:

What do you do with a skunk in a live trap". 22, 9mm, 45?

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[NoTrespassing]

Live trap had a skunk inside this morning. I doubt a skunk would have killed all those chickens but in any event, one less potential spraying of our dog...

The animal in the live trap reminded me of my brother-in-law who used to trap the occassional raccoon in his. He would often relocate them to one of the more prestigious neighborhoods in the area believing the coons deserved a better life. :laughing:

I wouldn't be surprised if it was the skunk. My coworker loses chickens to skunks all the time.

At our house it's feral cats and coons mainly, but we've lost some to owls and hawks too.

 

[David P]

What do you do with a skunk in a live trap". 22, 9mm, 45?

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A gentleman never tells............. but I'm having lunch at the Double Deuce.

 

[David P]

TnAndy: I looked at designs similar to the one you use but stuck with this design for the first few as I like the lower profile. The tops on mine will open up like a cellar door so we can get inside if we need to. I do need to get wheels on them, though, but want a design that allows me to use a single set of wheels and just move them from tractor to tractor. I've seen guys using a dolly but I think there's probably another way to do it.

 

[aczlan]

What do you do with a skunk in a live trap". 22, 9mm, 45?

Last time we caught one, we used the exhaust from the tractor, put a hose from the exhaust to the trap and covered the trap with heavy plastic. Let it run at a high idle for an hour or so and the skunk is history WITHOUT spraying the trap as it passes on.

Aaron Z

 

[David P]

Last time we caught one, we used the exhaust from the tractor, put a hose from the exhaust to the trap and covered the trap with heavy plastic. Let it run at a high idle for an hour or so and the skunk is history WITHOUT spraying the trap as it passes on.

Aaron Z

I thought about doing something similar to that and wondered how it would work. How long did it take before the skunk was out? I'm thinking an hour is a little overkill (pun intended).