this year ive lost about 12 altogether, 3-4 grown birds and the rest young pullets ive incubated and raised to try to replace them .. only 2 of those made it to present, the last entire batch of chicks was decimated ... other animals, house cats, racoons and rats from the neighbors yard ... the racoon(s) i think are coming even later 3-5am so i need to change strategy and set an alarm instead of staying up late ... the rats are last, more of a nuisance than threat, but i need to change weapons platform for that, the blitz isnt accurate enough for positive kills on smaller targets ... we'll get there! ...
maybe if you actually knew what you were talking about lol ... i live here every day and free roaming my birds is how it works for me, with that comes factors of them not all getting in at night sometimes and i live by myself also which means sometimes the coop must be opened before i leave to work at 3am ... also, these possums literally rip the wire away frim the coop and break in .. my neighbor a couple of houses over has been suffering heavy losses as well ... so dont act like you know the situation .. you dont ..its not easy to stay up all night staring through a scope to save your chickens and improve things around your home, neither is that scope a cheap item, like im playing around to amuse myself .. so wake up, and smell the possum musk haha
My free ranged bantams die of old age so I might have a thing or two figured out. If possums are able to pull the wire back, you have a poorly constructed enclosure…. I don’t expect to cure your ignorance but I might be able to help the next guy
While I’m not one to say anything, I’d be much more inclined to believe raccoons and even fox are wrecking havoc on your coup. The insane gymnastics those fat little bastards are capable of are incredible. They also push around possums like it’s nothing. Not saying the possum are innocent- but they travel same paths as raccoons and their easier to spot and blame. If you have a trail cam set up, that will confirm all your culprits.
I’ve had raccoons pull a half grown turkey through a chain link fence. That’s a testament to their strength and dexterity. One raccoon sticks his arm through the fence while another runs around stirring up the birds.
i can tomorrow .. actually i already have done multiple repairs and reinforcements .. the coop is getting older and i do plan to build a new one maybe next year ... what i 'can' tell you is regular chicken wire, even 1", a possum can rip a hole in and it doesnt take much .. multiple times ive walked out to a small hole in the side of the coop with feathers all around it where they pulled one through, and this is way up 3-4' .. unexpected ..next coop will be hardware cloth throughout .. in the meantime, we're eliminating the culprits ..
i pretty much think its 'all the above' everything makes their rounds in the neighborhood late at night and have up until now had nothing to stop them .... they are all opportunistic, if theres easy food they go for that first, the tighter you lock things down the more destructive theyll become to get food ...
thats a great point and hits the nail right on the head .. that pos wouldnt be right at my coop if it wasnt up to no good!
Perhaps creating a Fort Knox of chicken coops would be advisable., might be easier in the long run. Plus more sleep. Just thought.
true enough, but ive been doing chickens now going on 15 years .. one rule of thumb is if you let the cute little predator live, its going to eventually get your birds ..if you got a pellet gun, use it! lol .. no quarter for the vile beasts! haha
actually i didnt know i could up vids directly on here, i'll have to check into it .. but i doubt it makes any difference .. theres people mowing stuff down with full auto ar's on youtube .. the karen-boy crying about a squirrel is laughable ..
So you have a Maximum Security enclosure, no lousy chick wire, we're talking need a cutting torch to get through it type, all six sides, then, when the critters that want some tasty tasty chicken try to get in they'll work really really hard and.....SMACK sudden death. Added enjoyment of watching their frustration prior to their demise. Great video opportunities.
