Raising chickens in pens is not what I ever wanted to do. We have the pens/runs that we keep them in when we’re gone and I’ll sometimes let one or two groups out and keep one group penned up so there’s no bickering . . especially since the red hens are a little testy with the other chickens.
The problem is . . if a chicken decides not to go into the pen at night, they don’t last long. I’m always torn between not letting those chickens out, keeping them penned up all the time or letting them get eaten by critters. What do you do? It doesn’t seem like a very good life to stay in a 30′ x 60′ enclosed run all the time when they could be out chasing grasshoppers but it surely isn’t much of a life to get eaten by a fox either!
In the last week, we’ve lost two red hens, two turkeys and now the two white bantam roosters. The last rooster met his demise last night. When I went out to put the other chickens up, he was on top of the run and I thought I could catch him with a net but he got away and this morning . . he’s gone.
There was a fox on one of the trail cams but not a good picture but look at the size of this raccoon.
Critter
The critters definitely rule the night around here. The fox was in the photo shortly after midnight, and there were at least three raccoons in the photos at different times.
We caught nothing . . for the past two nights. We have bigger traps ordered . . I hope they arrive soon!
If you’re leaning toward the side of the critters . . they’re wiping out my chickens and they’ve already eaten my turkeys so I don’t have much sympathy for them. There’s 44 acres they’re welcome to roam but not the one that has my house and chickens!
Linda in TX says
How could I have compassion for a raccoon that weighs 30 pounds? Obviously he’s living the high life out there in your yard. I have to agree with you about letting the chickens run loose during the day – it must be fun for them and fun for you to watch. And those that refuse to let you catch them to shelter them for nightly safety, well you’ve done your best on that one, too. All us readers enjoy your stories – too bad we couldn’t make up a nightly posse!
Sherrill says
And I BET there’s plenty of other stuff out there for them to eat!!! They just target the chickens because they’re easier prey probably. My niece used to let her chickens out but no more..it’s been a few months since they’ve been out and their pen is MUCH smaller than your chickens’ pen!! Poor chickens…
Toni Wood says
I’ve always laughed at the term free range and pastured chickens. When was the last time you saw a field of chickens? Not gonna happen! Too many predators out there.
sharon says
We have free range chickens who have about 5 acres to roam on. They get fed a bit of grain so they want to come in at night. However we also have these 5 acres fences with two trained Great Pyrenees dogs who will not even let a crow lite anywhere near the chickens and other livestock.
Sue S says
My sympathies are with you and the chickens. I’ve had raccoons trash my bird feeders and dump garbage cans. They’re pests. I just think how much worse it would have been 100+ years ago when you relied on those eggs and birds to live, when you couldn’t run down to the store to replace them! Hang in there.
Mary in VA says
I don’t have any sympathy for racoons. Our chickens only get to run when there is a human to supervise them, otherwise they stay inside their Fort Know runs. I wish it were otherwise – I could use their help in controlling the garden bugs. I had one of the chicks out last night and it was fun to see her already chasing bugs and gobbling the grass as quickly as she could – and she’s only 5 weeks old.
Sharon in Michigan says
So far this spring and summer, we’ve not lost any kens due to preditors. If we notice a hawk in the area, we keep them penned for a few days. Otherwise they free range from sun up to sun down. I rarely have an issue of them not wanting to go inside at night to roost. I only have one pen and one coop so when we get a new batch of chicks, we keep them separate until they look big enought to take care of them selves. So far, so good. They eventually migle and act like responsible hens! Every once in a while one gets bitchy but it all seems to work out.
sharon says
How about chicken tractors that you can move to different areas during the day? Would that work for you? They stay in the pen which can be moved to new areas for fresh greens.
mandy in the UK says
We have suffered the same thing here,our chickens and turkeys..Badgers and foxes have both been a problem but we have managed to keep them safe in new pens.I dont feel bad about keeping them in a pen,they have all the garden weeds,lawn clippings and any veg that are spare,and they dont get killed anymore,,its heartbreaking to loose birds to pests,and stressful and horrible for birds that are left.
JudyL says
We give ours garden clippings and leftover fruit, etc. too but I really NEED for them to be running loose so they can catch grasshoppers. I think a Great Pyrenees may be in my future.
Karin Vail says
A GP was going to be my suggestion! They are amazing dogs,
Amy (NW WI) says
Trail cams are great to help play detective! You already know where I stand on this debate: DEFINITELY protecting your animals!!!!
For us, it was an owl (couple of years ago now). And we hope s/he never comes back!
Crazy enough—upon advice of a buddy, we hung up the dead chicken on the fence to help attract and catch the ‘critter’ (didn’t know it was an owl at the time), and we ended up using a smaller jaw-clamp trap (not sure of the exact name, but like a mini-bear trap). The box trap never worked (for obvious reasons now).
I truly truly hope you figure out the culprit and find peace SOON!
Angie says
That’s terrible, your losing the chickens faster than you can raise them. Our blue heeler passed on several years ago, and now the critters are everywhere at night. She slept in our laundry room at night, but roamed the property during the day and early evenings. The critters seemed to know by her scent to keep away from the area surrounding the house. We live on 5 wooded country acres. Now that she is gone they tear up the fish pond and fountains. Leave their scat everywhere, and I see huge raccoons at dusk roaming around our back lawn area. I miss our big dog so much! We also have coyotes and foxes. Our blue heeler also made me feel safer when I was home alone. She was such a gentle dog, but could be on alert and guardful when needed.
Sharon Downey says
When my folks had chickens they were always penned up for their safety. . We depended on the eggs and the meat and couldn’t afford to let the critters get them.
Teri Jordan says
We had lots of trouble with raccoons……we called the county trapper…….he let us use the traps…raccoons love, love, love fruit loops caught every one with fruit loops…..
Judy Hatch says
Freeze-dried meal worms will get your chickens back into their pen any time you want! Give them some meal worms each day and by day two or three they will recognize the bag or the sound of the bag! Works EVERY time! I get the meal worms at a place called Tractor Supply (farm stuff) and have seen them at feed stores.
JudyL says
That works with chickens that love to go in but with chickens like some of the bantam breeds that love to sleep in the tree tops, they will not go near the coop at dusk for fear that we’re going to put them up. We raise our own meal worms and they love the live ones better than the freeze dried ones but that’s not enough to get some of those bantams inside.
Nancy says
We also are able to get the chickens in a night with the meal worms. I put them in the coop in the chicken feeder. So far they have fallen for it every night. Last fall we lost one of the chickens to something. I think a raccoon when we did not get home before dark. Now I am pretty insistent that we always be home when the sun goes down or they are put away before we leave. The meal worms help with that.
Diana in RR,TX says
Dad had to use lights to keep the raccoons out of his fish pond. They were cleaning out his Koi. Once he put the lights up and on a timer he didn’t lose anymore fish.
Rosalie says
I’ve lost 2 hens in the past 10 days….each time it was just after dark (I was about 45 minutes late in locking them up!) and the coon or whatever had already snatched and killed one! So far I have caught a big and little coon, but still setting traps as they will strip my peach trees before the fruit is ripe! Last year I didn’t get any peaches….hoping for better this year. Marshmallows are what I am using for bait.