Nocturnal creatures

[Oz_Kioti]

As I went out to close the door to the chook pen for the night, I noticed this industrious little chappie, for about the sixth night in a row. Can't see him during the day, but every night, there he is:



And then onto the brew shed, and saw this magnificent chap (or chapess?):



Life's good in the serenity of the bush!

 

[BigBlue1]

I put out a trail cam a couple years ago to find out what was burrowing under our old chicken coop. Found that some frequent visitors at night were a pair of foxes that were also interested in what was under the coop.

 

[CADplans]

Nocturnal animals DROVE the design of my chicken COOP,,
we had tried to have chickens back in the mid-1980's,,
It seemed like EVERY animal went after those chickens at night.

The FINAL STRAW was when a neighbor gave us some fancy Polish chickens,,
They were beautiful, my wife loved those as pets.
One night, some animal reached in the coop, and pulled the heads of those chickens right through the wire.
A little of the body was left in the coop.

The next week, the new coop was started, I built it in the shed,,

Rather than being on the ground, I decided the coop would be elevated,,
The BIG PLUS, was that there would be NO BENDING OVER to pick eggs, or clean the coop,,

I even included that compartment to the left to store feed,, and water.
(there is a 5 gallon jug that gravity feeds water to the inside of the coop)

The coop has been in use for 20 years,, other than a few trapped mice,
no animal has bothered these chickens,, night or day!!

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I met a guy who was having trouble with predators getting his chickens; he said he installed these lights and they really work.

https://www.amazon.com/PREDATORGUARD-Deterrent-Nocturnal-Repellent-Accessories/dp/B00E51X8Q8?th=1

 

[cqaigy2]

I met a guy who was having trouble with predators getting his chickens; he said he installed these lights and they really work.

https://www.amazon.com/PREDATORGUARD-Deterrent-Nocturnal-Repellent-Accessories/dp/B00E51X8Q8?th=1

For me, they didn't work with deer.

 

[Jstpssng]

he FINAL STRAW was when a neighbor gave us some fancy Polish chickens,,
They were beautiful, my wife loved those as pets.
One night, some animal reached in the coop, and pulled the heads of those chickens right through the wire.
A little of the body was left in the coop.

Not that it matters now but that sounds like raccoons.

 

[ericm979]

Not that it matters now but that sounds like raccoons.

Yep, we had that happen too and there were racoon tracks to id the perpetrator.

 

[Jstpssng]

Yep, we had that happen too and there were racoon tracks to id the perpetrator.

There were more than tracks when I found out what was getting my chickens...

 

[CADplans]

Not that it matters now but that sounds like raccoons.

Yep, we had that happen too and there were racoon tracks to id the perpetrator.

Yes, I am sure it is racoons, but, this coop has never lost a chicken,, knock on wood,,,

One time, I built a stand, and put a Hav-A-Hart trap next to the coop screen,,
The racoons thought that was the entrance,, and went right in,,
<<<<<<<<<<<<< "~" >>>>>>>>>>>
Surprise, Surprise,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Jstpssng]

One time, I built a stand, and put a Hav-A-Hart trap next to the coop screen,,
The racoons thought that was the entrance,, and went right in,,
<<<<<<<<<<<<< "~" >>>>>>>>>>>

I got a good chuckle out of this one!