Stop Dogs, Raccoons, Coyotes, and More
So, the verdict is in: and pastured poultry is the preferred method for raising healthy chickens… and eggs. So if you can pasture your chickens, you should! Your chickens (and your pasture) will probably thank you for it.
One thing that stops many people from unlocking the coop or run is the threat of predators. It can be intimidating to release your chickens from their little fortress if you’ve never let them roam before.
Dogs, raccoons, coyotes – there are chicken predators everywhere! I’ve heard many people say, “just get dogs.” Livestock guardian dogs are a great choice for some – but they’re not an option for many people.
This electric poultry netting is Marjory’s favorite fix for a flock without guardians. It only takes one person to move it around, and you can run it on solar power – simple and effective. In this video, Marjory chats with Joe Putnam from Premier 1 about how the netting works.
Win a Free Roll of Electric Poultry Netting
There’s obviously a big demand for chicken protection, based on the discussion we had about raccoons last summer here at the [Grow] Network. If you recall, people from all over the U.S. (and all over the world) chimed in with their favorite solutions for raccoons. If you missed it, you can find an overview of the whole thing here: A Whole Litter of Raccoon Solutions.
Electrifying the perimeter was a popular solution that people talked about. Premier 1 lets you do it at an affordable cost. You can electrify a small perimeter and move it around within a bigger field or pasture. So it’s a nice option for people who don’t want to protect the entire property.
Premier 1 is a sponsor for our upcoming Home Grown Food Summit. One lucky customer is going to get a complimentary roll of Premier 1 poultry netting to try out in their own yard or pasture.
Read More: Is this really the best way to raise a small flock of chickens?
You can learn more about Premier 1’s product line here: Premier 1 Electric Fencing
COMMENTS(16)
That doesn’t help with hawks which is our biggest problem.
If there’s no natural cover in the area you enclose, make sure you provide some. A sheet of plywood held a foot or so off the ground by a simple frame should be good enough.
What about hawks?
Answer the question
Nope – fences don’t keep hawks out. Roosters, dogs, and scarecrows are worth a try – and make sure your chickens have something to hide under!
I have the same problem….Hawks. Any help/suggestions will be appreciated.
Again, no mention of raptors. My husband was actually driving by our n door neighbors house when a raptor, I won’t describe what it did. and then came back the next day. A fence???
I haven’t lost a chicken to a predator since I got my guardian dog. At first she played a couple of chickens to death but now that she is a little older she has been great.
Dogs are really good Etta.
Saw where a neighbor had a quite large “pen” of chicken wire ( sides AND top) with about 6 maybe more chickens in it. What was REALLY neat about it was it was on wheels! Two decent sized wheels at the “back” so all he had to do was pick up the front a little and move the whole flock to a new patch for them to eat. There was a small, maybe 2 to 3 inches at the bottom for clearance. Seemed to work well and kept the hawks from having all their meals in one place. I think this would be better AND cheaper and MOBILE.
Hawks!! I parked my trailers back near the coop in hopes that the obstacle course will slow them down a bit
What breed of dogs are good for protecting chickens? I had a boxer once who was good. but boxers are people needy as well, so I don’t want to do that for 11 yrs again. I also pen my dwarf goats with my chickens, but I do let them out on the property during the day to roam the acreage so I need a breed that is good with both. Any suggestions?
Large roosters (ours were RIR) are good protection against many predators. Our Rottweiler stays close to the house and the chickens run to her if they see or hear something suspicious. No losses since having the Rotti.
I strung fishing line in a criss cross pattern across the top of my chicken pen. It has worked keeping out the hawks.
Our flock is free range from morning till night. They are locked up in a really secure pen at night. Our worst predator we believe had been a neighbor dog. But we have had all kinds, fox, cat and at least an aireal attack. We’ve been able to train the group not to go out of main fencing area. We have a Pyrenees in the goat yard which must help a little and soon we will move our donkey up onto the other side of property. We are a wooded property so there are lots of hidong places. Our flock is RIR and we have 3 roosters which are great. We suffer losses but overall the flock is learning and getting smarter which hopefully will be taught to younger generations. Plus its wonderful to see them roaming and enjoying life.
I lost my entire flock of chickens….16, plus two ducks to a roving dog just last month. It was the first flock that I had raised from chicks. They had just started producing a bumper crop of eggs too. I had them a nice chicken coop. I put them up at night but let them free range during the day. They stayed close to the house. We couldn’t kill the dog…he was very sly and crafty. He left as soon as he’d killed all of my chickens. He was not a hungry stray. When I think of it I just get sick. The waste of life…. not to mention all the time, effort, and money that went into that chicken project. I don’t know that I will do it again.