Predators are always a concern for chicken owners.  What may not be widely known amongst chicken keepers is that the risk of attack upon your flock may actually be worse in winter months than during other times of the year.

In order to properly guard backyard flocks from becoming prey to hungry predators of all sorts, chicken keepers need to properly prepare and protect their birds.  Today on the Urban Chicken Podcast we discuss the best techniques to prevent attracting predators to your backyard coop and protecting your hens if the predators are already there. 

Wintertime is normally the season of privation for all creatures – there simply are fewer options for food.  However winter can change from a time of scarcity to a season of starving when extreme weather destroys an already limited food resource.  In recent years, wintertime flooding in certain areas of the UK decimated the local populations of mice and voles causing a severe food shortage for the British owl population (particularly barn owls).  Similarly, unusually harsh winter weather in Canada is currently pushing large numbers of Boreal owls south into the United States in search for food and survival.  All of these owls in crisis are going to have to find other food sources or perish.  Your backyard chickens are a potential solution that those raptors are going to surely be after.

Chickens are possibly one of the most helpless creatures walking the earth in large numbers.  They cannot fly well.  They do not run particularly fast (as in relation to potential predators, not the hapless chicken owner trying to catch them in the backyard).  They are not equipped with claws, fangs, quills, venom or any other method to fight off would-be attackers.  Moreover they are virtually blind at night.

Chicken Predators – The Usual Suspects

It seems as though everyone agrees that chickens are tasty.  This is supported by the fact that there is a significant list of potential predators looking to dispatch your chicken flock at any moment.  The most common list of usual suspects when it comes to chicken attackers are: domesticated dogs, raccoons, raptors (eagles, hawks, owls, osprey, etc.), foxes, coyotes, wolves, skunks, possums, snakes, rats, cats (every kind from house cat to mountain lion), bears, pole cats (this is the weasel family which includes minks, weasels, martins, fishers cats, etc.), mice, crows and of course, other humans.  There are many other chicken predators that are not listed above (e.g. snapping turtles, alligators, badgers, etc.) because they are rarer culprits.  Truly, your chickens, their eggs and chicks are vulnerable to attack from all fronts.

Prevent Predators From Being Drawn to Your Yard

An important step in protecting your backyard flock from predators is to not attract those creatures into your yard in the first place.  The number one attractant of other animals to your backyard is open and accessible food in the yard.  It is common for chicken keepers to leave “treats” out in the yard for their birds.  However, excess food will attract other hungry animals into your yard – particularly in wintertime when there are not a lot of other competing food sources available.

Predators lured into your yard by the scent of food left out will be emboldened by the reward of an easy meal and will look to capitalize on this victory.  These animals will carefully search your yard for more food rewards – including your backyard flock.

Consequently, feed your flock but do not leave treats lying about the yard.  Do not store excess feed outside where it could be accessed by motivated predators.  Remember even small predators such as mice, rats and crows may initially be attracted to your yard and coop via excess food being left out and quickly turn to stealing eggs, killing chicks and attacking bantam birds.  Remember too that even large predators, such as bears, are attracted by bird feed and seeds as an easy food source when trying to pack on their hibernation weight.

Predator-Proof Your Coop

In addition to not attracting predators into the yard, chicken keepers must predator-proof their coops.  It is simply poor stewardship to not provide a flock with a properly built coop.  There are several considerations when building a sufficiently fortified home for your birds.

First, be sure to construct a durable coop.  A motivated predator can and will break through flimsy coop walls, floors and roofs.  I have heard of an account of raccoons busting through a coop roof to attack and devour a backyard hen.  Coops built in a slipshod manner with gaps or weakness will allow dexterous creatures to squeeze or manipulate their way inside.  You would probably be surprised at how small of a hole a weasel can slip itself through.  Moreover, raccoons are like monkeys in that they are able to manually open many types of simple latches and locks.

Second, build your coop using predator proofing materials.  The main point here is to not use the screening material that is commonly called “chicken wire.”  Chicken wire, in a word – SUCKS.  Though it is cheap to buy and easy to use – you ultimately get what you pay for.  Many common chicken predators are actually able to bite or claw through chicken wire.  Make the proper investment up front and build your coop using a material call “hardware cloth.”  Hardware cloth (See more here: Hardware Cloth, 1/2″ x 48″ x 50′) is a heavy duty screening material that comes in rolls.  Yes – it is slightly more expensive and difficult to work with than traditional chicken wire, but it also keeps many of the predators out of your coop.

An important tip when using hardware cloth in a coop, is to make certain that you use the right size and gauge.  Hardware cloth is a crisscross square style screening.  The material is measured in gauge (i.e. the thickness and strength of the wire) and size (i.e. the size of hole in between the crossing wires).  Ideally, one should use a hardware cloth that is no less that 19 gauge and with holes that are no more than a ¼ – ½ inch (0.635 – 1.27 centimeters.)  Smaller gaps in the hardware cloth mesh is essential for preventing predator attacks through the material.  Hardware cloth with one inch (2.54 centimeters) or larger gaps allows snakes, mice, rats and some smaller polecats to squeeze inside of your coop.  Additionally, raccoons are well-known for reaching into coops through gaps large enough to fit their arms and maiming or killing chickens.  A raccoon will violently rip the head, legs and wings off of a chicken even though the raccoon is unable to get the wounded or killed bird outside of the coop to devour.

Third, you must fortify bottom of your chicken house by burying 12 inches (30.38 centimeters) of hard cloth around the perimeter edge of the coop and run.  Many animals such as dogs, skunks, polecats, big cats and coyotes will dig a tunnel under the edge of your coop or run to access to your birds.  Buried hard cloth stops predators from tunneling into your coop.

Fourth, when predator-proofing your coop, it is best to build the coop’s floor up off of the ground.  Coops that are made from converted sheds often don’t have the protective hard cloth buried around the edge of the shed-style coop’s floor.  Animals such as rats, possums, snakes and mice commonly will dig under the shed-style coop floor and take up residence there.  Once comfortably established there, these predators will go in and out of the coop through the floor – eating feed, eggs and sometimes birds.  Depending on the size of your shed-style coop, it can be very difficult to root out predators that have ensconced themselves under your coop.

Check Your Habits and Your Yard

Your habits as a chicken owner can profoundly affect the safety of your flock.  Make an honest assessment of your habits – Are you locking your chickens up as soon as it is dark outside or are you leaving the coop doors wide open until late at night or the next morning?  Remember, some predators are nocturnal and start hunting as soon as the sun goes down.  Are you collecting your chicken eggs often and early?  Neglected eggs in the coop are just another attractant of predators to your flock.  Your chickens are reliant on you to be a conscientious keeper and to form good habits to keep them safe.

Additionally, good fences make good neighbors. This is true whether that is between you and your human or animal neighbors.  Take the time to walk your yard and inspect your fence.  Repair or replace any weak fence boards and fill all gaps in and under your fence.

Use Tools to Deter Potential Predators

You could also use certain tools to scare away potential predators from your coop. Some deterrence tools include reflective pinwheels, ribbons and tape or sprayed chemicals or pheromones to frighten away potential predators.  However, one of the best and most respected predator deterrents is the Nite Guard flashing lights system.  Nite Guard is a simple technological answer to a difficult problem.  The Nite Guard system is comprised of small, highly durable boxes fitted with a solar panel strip at the top, which charges a battery internally.  At night, the Nite Guard box uses the stored solar energy to power a flashing red light.  The Nite Guard boxes are easily attached to the sides of coops, runs, barns, fences, etc.  The flashing red lights emitted from the system scare predators from coming close and investigating your coop and flock.

There are countless testimonials on-line about the efficacy of the Nite Guard predator system.  In fact, Bill Bezuk, owner of the Nesting Place (America’s first chicken hotel) and guest on episode 009 of the Urban Chicken Podcast, mentioned that he uses the Nite Guard system on his chicken hotel coops to keep his poultry guests safe.

Get a Guard for Your Flock

Traditionally chicken flocks had their own guard systems: roosters and well- trained dogs.  Though some people doubt it, a dog can be easily taught to protect chickens and other poultry from predators.

Similarly, the function of a rooster in a flock (aside from making babies) is to protect his hens from danger.  Roosters instinctively are good watch guards.  They are alert and constantly scanning for potential predators.  Once a danger is spotted, a rooster will call out an alarm and marshal his flock to safety.  In some instances, Roosters have been known to even physically fight off predators in the middle of an attack on a flock member.

Identifying the Culprit After the Fact

Sometimes though, despite your best efforts you will lose chickens to predator caused injuries or death. The real challenge is when you have no idea what creature got your bird.  Even if you have not seen the predator that has attacked your flock there are tell-tale signs that can help you narrow the list of possible culprits.  By sleuthing out the likely predator that you are dealing with, you can more appropriately tailor your efforts against future attacks.

Here is a table of evidence to assist identifying the suspected creatures when it comes to chicken attacks.

Evidence of Attack on Flock	Likely Culprit Predator
Egg eaten with rather smallish hole on one end	Mice
If dead birds found claw marks around shoulder, neck and back area, victim birds usually have ribs and shoulder area eaten first, dead birds will be covered in dirt and vegetation from being dragged around	Bobcats
If dead birds found large bite out of back of neck, entrails eaten, sometimes dead birds found buried in dirt, snow or leaves	Large Cats Mountain Lions, etc.
Predator gained access to coop through small hole, several birds killed, heads, necks and crops eaten	Fisher Cats (if in NE part of US) or other Polecats
Eggs open and eaten at one end	Skunks
Forcibly destroyed coop, lots of dead birds, paw prints	Bears
Missing bird, if remaining dead bird its head and neck eaten, deep stab wound cuts on its body, bird defecation left near the dead body	Owls
Missing bird, escaping bird will be cut up appearing as though it had been stabbed with a knife, bird defecation left near the dead body	Eagles, Hawks (other raptors)
Complicated latch opened, several birds dead, heads ripped off, heads, crops and abdomens eaten, no fully missing birds	Raccoons
Tunnel into coop/run, remaining dead birds have broken necks, scattered feathers, missing bird(s)	Coyotes
Birds found with abrasions and missing feathers	House Cats
Bloody torn carcasses and scattered feather, but nothing eaten (sport killing)	Weasels or other Polecats
Birds found still alive but dragging intestines outside of their bodies	Weasels or other Polecats
Birds with lacerations near the cloaca (vent)	Weasels or other Polecats
Missing small chicks, bite marks on full-grown chickens in the hock joints	Rats
Missing birds, piles of feathers, panic-stricken remaining flock	Dogs, Coyotes, Foxes & Raptors
Chicks or small chickens killed, head, neck and/or abdomens eaten	Skunks
Missing Eggs	Rats, Snakes, Mice, Crows, Skunks, House Cats, Raccoons & Polecats
One or more dead/missing birds, pile of feathers, possibly feathers found outside away from coop, only one bird missing, dead birds remaining have broken necks, clumps of feathers missing from the remaining dead birds’ necks	Foxes
Missing leg, wing or head but bird remains inside the coop or run	Raccoons
Several birds missing with no trace of struggle	Humans
One bird killed, head eaten	Hawks
One or two birds killed, mauled and the abdomens eaten, no birds missing from coop	Opossums
Several birds killed, heads and crops eaten	Raccoons
Several birds killed, lots of small bite wounds on the body, some heads eaten, the bodies neatly piled	Weasel or other Polecats
Several birds killed, mauled but not eaten, broken necks	Domesticated Dogs

 

Losing beloved birds to grisly deaths is something that all chicken owners want to avoid.  It is horrible to go out to the coop and find all of your birds dead or gruesomely injured because you failed to take the proper steps to sufficiently protect them.  As Ben Franklin said, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  It is better to take the necessary steps to protect your flock from the beginning than try to get rid of an empowered and persistent predator later.

GIVEAWAY

The Urban Chicken Podcast is very proud to announce that Nite Guard has generously donated one of their solar-powered night predator lights to be given away here!  This contest is open for entries until March 15, 2014.  Click HERE for details about the Nite Guard system you could win and how to enter the contest.  Yay – free stuff!

CHICKEN NEWS: 

• GI Independent – Nebraskan man found with 100 chickens in his SUV VIDEO
• GI Independent – man with 100 chickens in SUV was also drunk-driving LINK
• Omaha.com – Same guy shot a man in leg by accident (WTH?!) VIDEOS
• Central Nebraska Humane Society’s Website (they have these chickens) LINK

MAIN SEGMENT:

• Nite Guard Website – providers of predator deterrance system LINK
• Morning Star – Barn Owl Faces Armageddon ARTICLE
• Vunderground – Tough Winter Forces Owls South ARTICLE
• BBC – Barn Owls Threatened by Winter Weather ARTICLE
• Backyard Chickens – Chicken Predators LINK
• Raising Chickens – List of Most Common Chicken Predators LINK
• Grit – How to Protect from Chicken Predators ARTICLE
• BYC Forum – Some Roosters Will Defend Against Predators THREAD
• Ohio State Univ. – Chicken Predator Fact Sheet LINK 
• Freewebs – All About Chicken Predators LINK 
• The Chicken-Chick – Hard Cloth v. Chicken Wire ARTICLE

SALLY’S SIDENOTES:

• Business Insider – Chemical spill = blue poop & eggs from chickens ARTICLE
  
• Business Insider – West Virginians Still Don’t Trust Their Water ARTICLE 
• Design Trend – Chemicals are turning backyard chickens eggs blue ARTICLE
• Beforeitsnews – Chemical Spill is getting inadequate response LINK 

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