Most homesteaders have chickens. The chickens are essential for providing eggs, so you don’t want anything to happen to them. Of course, we all know chickens are delicious. And quite a few predators know the same exact thing. Therefore, you need to take steps to keep your chickens safe from all manner of predators. Here are some tips to make it easier on you.
What Predators Are in Your Area?
The first thing you need to do is take some time to research what types of predators are in your area that are likely to prey on chickens. You may have coyotes, foxes, weasels, and more that are quite common. Think about some of the other animals as well. These can include rats, some snakes that eat eggs, and predatory birds. You need to devise defenses that are able to withstand all of the different types of predators in your location.
Use Chicken Wire Wisely
You need to use the chicken wire for more than just building a fence around the coop. Yes, you need a fence, but you also need to make sure that the wire is placed into the ground at least 12 to 15 inches. This will help stop predators that try to dig their way inside.
In addition, you should add the wire to the top of your chicken run. Make sure the “chicken wire ceiling” is about seven feet high – you need to make sure you can still walk around under it. This will give your chickens plenty of light, but it will help to keep out pesky birds of prey that might otherwise swoop down on your poor chickens.
Look for Holes in the Ground and Plug Them
Take the time each day to walk around the grounds of the chicken run and around the coop to look for holes in the ground. These holes could be from a variety of different types of predators including foxes, skunks, and weasels. If you find any of these holes, plug them right away. You might also want to set out some traps – outside of the coop of course.
Do the Same With the Coop
In addition, you should look at the chicken coop for any holes. Even a very small hole no more than half an inch or so in diameter is enough to allow in certain predators. You never want to let predators get right into the coop. This is especially true when it comes to weasels – they seem to like killing and will often kill all of the chickens in a coop even though they might not eat much at all.
Remove the Brush
A final tip to help reduce the number of predators who are looking at your chickens as food is to remove the brush in the area around the coop. If a predator has to move across a large amount of empty space in order to get to the chickens, they are less likely to do so, as they do not want to be seen or caught.
These simple tips should help to keep your chickens much safer and much happier.
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