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!

 

[jaxs]

For me, they didn't work with deer.

Deer were killing your chickens? How strange.

 

[oosik]

I have more than enough night time beasties wandering thru my yard. I get my chicken at the local grocery store. Neighbor about five miles west of me had his bee hives shredded by black bears.

 

[cqaigy2]

Deer were killing your chickens? How strange.

Check their site.

 

[bunyip]

Between 2.30 and 3.30 every morning something runs across our front deck, guessing it is either a fox or feral cat, could be a possum but unlikely and pretty sure it's not a turtle.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Between 2.30 and 3.30 every morning something runs across our front deck, guessing it is either a fox or feral cat, could be a possum but unlikely and pretty sure it's not a turtle.

I've had foxes turn on our drive way motion light at night when they crossed our yard.

 

[bunyip]

The feral cats do ours, we give them a little food each night, not enough to make them lazy but enough to make them stay and enjoy the rats and mice, so far it's working.

 

[BackRoad]

^^^^ We like having the feral cats around. The feed bowl is always full for them.

Security cams indicate an occasional possum or coon also.

I leave the tick eating possums alone...but the coons try to get into everything!

 

[Oz_Kioti]

Between 2.30 and 3.30 every morning something runs across our front deck, guessing it is either a fox or feral cat, could be a possum but unlikely and pretty sure it's not a turtle.

Trail cam!

My neighbour has a large avocado orchard, and something/s was doing severe damage to some newly replaced trees. We suspected feral pigs, trail-cam confirmed it, big trap then set up, and problem solved.

Then some time later, their deck was being visited in the wee small hours. From the still shot extracted from the video, note the time - 2:40am:

 

[BnRidge]

We ran a dairy, beef, hogs, poultry. When I was 4, the steers were out; but it was after dark, coming home from a theater, drive in the yard with the headlights on and the dmn things were peering around the sheds in the dark. Strange things come out at night.

 

[Wagtail]

Trail cam!

My neighbour has a large avocado orchard, and something/s was doing severe damage to some newly replaced trees. We suspected feral pigs, trail-cam confirmed it, big trap then set up, and problem solved.

Then some time later, their deck was being visited in the wee small hours. From the still shot extracted from the video, note the time - 2:40am:

View attachment 730148

That's a really small rhinoceros.