I have been naive.....In 2 years I havn't had one pred problem, so I had this false sense of security. I thought living in the city all I really had to
worry about were stray dog/cats.
I have been tested in the last few weeks and am becoming very angry!
First, I have a hawk attack in broad daylight!!
My birds used to free range every afternoon for about 3 hours before sunset, this particular day, we left to go to the grocery store, maybe gone 15 minutes with them out. Came back to find a hawk on top of one of my birds just pecking at it, feathers all over!
I thought she was dead, she just lay there, her neck all twisted. Reached down to pick her up and she jumped up and took off like a shot into the coop.
Now I am on guard, they only come out when I am sitting out back with them, gun in hand watching the skies. They are still on alert, every small bird that flies over and back in the pen they go.
Now, just last night, we hear cackles and crowing about midnight, go out to investigate and find a RACOON in the coop. My roo was down in the coop in shock, just a few scratches on him and feather loss.
I am so frustrated and now I know they are just not safe cos they will keep coming back.
I have a question on security, i didn't sleep all night worried.
I have an aluminum shed that I use as a coop, then we have a dog run attached to that as the pen, which is covered with chicken wire and then covered with platsic grenhouse panels and a tarp on top of that, I thought it was secure but looking this morning found a few points of entry.
I will be patching those this afternoon with heavy duty rabbit cage wire.
My questionis here. The shed has aluminum sliding doors on it, can this racoon manipulate these doors and get them open and get in? This would be the only way he could get into the shed. There is no other possible entry he could use.
I used to leave the door open at night to keep it cool in there in the summer, with winter coming,, it will be closed, but will they be safe???
I have been tested in the last few weeks and am becoming very angry!
First, I have a hawk attack in broad daylight!!
My birds used to free range every afternoon for about 3 hours before sunset, this particular day, we left to go to the grocery store, maybe gone 15 minutes with them out. Came back to find a hawk on top of one of my birds just pecking at it, feathers all over!
I thought she was dead, she just lay there, her neck all twisted. Reached down to pick her up and she jumped up and took off like a shot into the coop.
Now I am on guard, they only come out when I am sitting out back with them, gun in hand watching the skies. They are still on alert, every small bird that flies over and back in the pen they go.
Now, just last night, we hear cackles and crowing about midnight, go out to investigate and find a RACOON in the coop. My roo was down in the coop in shock, just a few scratches on him and feather loss.
I am so frustrated and now I know they are just not safe cos they will keep coming back.
I have a question on security, i didn't sleep all night worried.
I have an aluminum shed that I use as a coop, then we have a dog run attached to that as the pen, which is covered with chicken wire and then covered with platsic grenhouse panels and a tarp on top of that, I thought it was secure but looking this morning found a few points of entry.
I will be patching those this afternoon with heavy duty rabbit cage wire.
My questionis here. The shed has aluminum sliding doors on it, can this racoon manipulate these doors and get them open and get in? This would be the only way he could get into the shed. There is no other possible entry he could use.
I used to leave the door open at night to keep it cool in there in the summer, with winter coming,, it will be closed, but will they be safe???
