I hae been raising chickens since i was 7 now 7 yrs later have a bunch of experince with predators i had a weasel problem 1ce wen i was 12 so i knew i guy that had gme roosters so i bought a stag so he wouldnt kill my banty roo but he wasent so fond of my banty but well they got along bout 3 days later i went out to check em a there laid a dead weasel the game roo had killed it so my suggestion to any land predators is a good protective roo ive also still have that same flock and recently the neibors dog was trying to dig under 1 mornin and the same stag that killed the weasel was now a full grown roo and the dog would stick es face under and the rooster would flog em no tellin how long he was tryin to get in but it wont be no more....

We have livestock guardian dogs that watch for aerial attacks, as well as ground assaults. They are Anatolian Shepherds and I can't say enough good things about them. After they matured and got out of the play stage, they are my best farming partners.

We raise dairy goats and chickens. We also shut the chickens in the coop at night for added protection.

We just lost a 4 month old chicken to a predator. It happened between 6 and 8 pm but it's very light here in Oregon until 9:30 or so at this time of year. We live in the city but it's very wooded. We have a fenced backyard so I let the chickens out during they day and they go to bed on their own at night.

Whatever got her scattered parts all over the yard but most of her was missing. We've only had 1 other daytime predator issue that I'm pretty sure was a hawk...February, trees leafless, midmorning, only a few feather and a drop of blood found. I'm thinking this recent attack might have been a coyote. Neighbors have seen one cruising down the middle of the street recently about 5 in the am.

Anyone have any ideas what might have done her in? Would a coyote jump a fence and be out at while it's still that light out? I hate to leave my girls locked up. How do we handle coyotes? Wish we could have a rooster.

To Kristie
I had a similar problem w/ a coyote. It seems to happen that as the days get long and the nights short all the nocturnal hunters start hitting in the day.Hawks are the only reliably daytime hunter but weasels, racoons, foxes, and coyotes have all hit me only in the long days of the summer and so far primarily in the afternoon. I am thinking of using special treats to get my chickens in a little early. Last summer I lost my favorite hen to the coyote and saw my pasture covered with feathers. It is heart wrenching. The thing that helped me alittle was thinking that at least my hens hadn't spent their lives in a battery cage.

I am devastated. This afternoon my husband and I took our kids out to the movies. We were gone maybe an hour and a half. Upon returning....our chickens were no where to be found. We did find chicken feathers in teh woods and when I looked further I found one of my chickens that had been killed. She was in tact(no body parts missing). I think a fox may have killed them. It must have taken two back to the den and killed that one and left it in the woods figuring it woudl come back later. I had thought all 5 of them had been killed, but luckily when I was calling to see if any would come out of the woods....two of them came running down the hill. Thank God two were still alive. I have a pen that I have for them attatched to their chicken coop. So I guess I will have to keep them in there for now. THe pen is made w/a wooden frame that sits ont he ground. There are some gaps along the bottom of the fence which I have tried to fill in w/ rocks. Although I am not sure if that really secures it enough. THe land is too rocky to dig and bury wire. Does anyone have any suggestions? I am not sure if hte fox would bother digging during the day to try to get the chickens. They always go in during the evening. They were free ranging in a lightly wooded area about 60 feet from their chicken house when they were attacked(or so that is what I am thinking). I am just kicking myself b/c had I locked them up when I went to the movies they woudl still be alive! I dont think ti is right to always keep them in a pen though. I think they like going into the grass and free ranging and eating the bugs etc. I still feel awful.

I lose chickens here mostly to other people's pets. We live in a rural farm area, but people just don't care anymore or they forgot that pets need to stay at home where they belong.
Good fences make good neighbor type of thing.
Well, as advise to the free range chicken and loss due to predators, I would advise you to get you some guineas. Best watchdogs (almost) on the planet. They yell and yell when something is odd and unusual is around. They get along with chickens and can use the same night housing as you chickens.
Place solar motion detector lights on your chicken house to help keep the larger animals away like the coyotes that are BTW released into the wild every once in a while.

Please read up on their pullets before you order the birds. They have different needs than a chick. Examples: they need to be warmer, different feed requirements, they need rocks in their water (a little top heavy at 1st and need to rocks to keep them from drowning) and they need a mirror (So, they see more birds and are comforted by the 'larger herd' idea). Please keep in mind that they love to fly and they love having a flock family of their own kind. If you get adult birds - keep them caged until you think they have decided "this is home", because adult birds are known to fly home from their 'new home'. And one of the most important items to keep in mind is they imprint on you their human parent and expect to be talked to on a multi daily bases. They are known to watch 'their human' though windows and set outside watching you though your glass doors. Mine have a route of coming onto the porch and yelling though the sliding glass door until you talk to them and they see their 'human' though the glass.
The downside is you cannot touch their nest to collect their eggs or they will not return to that nest; use a long handled wooden spoon. And they do not lay in a nest box, they still make their nest on the grown in overgrown area

Another short item -

My Mom has always tried to provide for the wild life in the area or befriend the animal so that it is beneficial to the animals well being to do as she wanted. We used to have a red fox on the farm here with our free range chickens, rabbits and guineas. So she trained it to ask for food.

She placed electric fences up around the chicken coops as a deterrent and every time she saw the fox she would talk to it, without watching it. She placed him a bowl of water and food next to the woods and would feed it every day. It kind of become a part of the family. He would come an sit in his hidden spot and watch us weeding the garden or plow the fields. It would come into the hay pasture and chase the mice when we were mowing hay. He had his own little house and plenty of free food so he left the barn yard alone. It's sad to remember when he died of old age.

I have 8 laying hens and struggled with predators for 2 years. First racoons, which are crafty little animals, then when that problem was solved it became hawks. I would let the hens out to range in the yard and one day a hawk grabbed one right in front of me. I purchased 2 guinea hens last spring and they've grown up in the coop over the winter with the chickens. Now that spring is here I've started letting everyone out and the guineas actually protect the chickens. They shout when there is danger and the chickens run into their pen. So far so good. I actually don't seem to have as many hawks flying around the yard period since the guineas joined the family.

I was free ranging my chicken during the day , they coup themselves at night but I've lost two to a weasel...they are fast and just kill to kill...I've also had an eagle try to fly through the chicken wire that coveres their coup area...needless to say he missed....Does anyone have any ideas on weasels issues?

Do your chickens have hawk problems? I have come across your solution. I recently bought a pair of geese from a wonderful woman who had every kind of bird. But what really caught my eye were the pigeons i saw flying in the trees. When i asked her about them she told me that hawks prefer pigeons over chickens because they can cetch them in flight. She said that she loses one almost every day, but it doesnt matter much because they multiply like rats. She never loses a chicken. To keep pigeons all you have to do is buy a pair and keep them long enough for them to raise young on your property. Then they never leave. I assume you clip their wings or cage them till the new family is settled.
-Rachell Koenig

I have raised pastured chickens for four years on some 'waste space' next to a four lane interstate-a hawk highway. I have not lost a hen to hawks since I put up reflecters. For the red tails i put scrap pieces of reflective metal on top of a piece of conduit shining up. for the cooper's hawk i use a four foot electric fence post with three old CD's attached to an insulater so they shine outward and upward. In the begining hawks would try to get a hen but got so disoriented that they would crash into trees. I replace the CDs when they wear out and check them after wind storms. Now if I could just figure out how to repel the weasel!

We have hawks and coyotes in our area. We lost all of our first batch of pullets, because their coop wasn't secure enough. Our neighbor, from whom we got the birds told us that these birds were ground nesters so they only needed a little A frame for shelter, needless to say she was mistaken.

We did our homework the second time built a proper coop and that helped a lot. But we did go back to the neighbor for more birds because she is the only one in the area with Phoenix chickens. The Phoenix do really well up against the hawks because they can really fly. Our roosters like to perch 50 feet up in the alder trees! One morning I saw our two roosters and one mother hen "play chicken" with a hawk by flying straight at it, in order to defend a chick that had gotten confused and couldn't remember how to climb the ramp back into the coop. I helped the little fuzz ball back in and all was well, but seeing them "play chicken" and win taught me where the phrase comes from! Between a proper coop and flighted birds, now we seldom loose a hen. And when we do it's usually because she was out late by herself trying to sit a "forbidden" nest!

I've had free range chickens for quite a few years now and for that long at least three pairs of red tail hawks crusing the air space up above. I have lost a chicken on rare occasion to possibly a hawk or more likely a daytime coyote. It has always been the chicken that didn't seem to stay with the pack. I've had seven guinea hens trolling the acerage for four years now they are always out in the open and I'm amazed they have survived so well. It must be the terrible noise they make and of course they are a fabulous early warning system for the chickens.. everything and anything seems to set them off.

Yes, I agree they (chickens and guineas) must have all those feathers for protection more than warmth. My black lab mix dog loves to defeather the tail end of my white chicken and my white rooster about every three months. They never have a mark on them but the yard looks like the angels were having a pillow fight.

The amazing thing is that dogs, hawks, chickens and other critters can live in relative peace together with a minimal amount of attrition. If we humans will just stay calm and let nature take it's course you will get a lot of joy raising backyard poultry. It's easy.

Roosters are amazingly courageous when it comes to their hens. Odell, my rescued fighting cock, is dear to my heart. I came running out of the house one day to an outrageous screaming in the lower field. It was, of course, Odell, who was head to head with one of the biggest coyotes I've ever seen while the hens were madly dashing for cover. He kept the coyote occupied,flying into it's face, spurring and flapping and screaming like a banshee. By the time I reached them the coyote had plucked him just about naked---no tail feathers, mane, wing feathers, or breast feathers---but he was still charging the rascal when I scooped him up and sent the coyote on his way. Amazingly, nary a scratch was on him and not a hen was lost. Perhaps that's why they have all those extra feathers to begin with. I could tell dozens of stories of how these feisty guys have protected their hens. I wouldn't trade my roosters for anything!

I have 27 laying hens. They are allowed to roam free during day light hours. To protect them from owls I place owl decoys around moving them from time to time. Hawks are terrified of owls. Also I have 2 big dogs who are very protective of their territory. They chase off other critters like coons, skunks, coyotes ext. This helps to protect my chickens.

To Sheila:
No, you do not need a rooster if you just want hens for
laying eggs. The only time you need a rooster is if you
want baby chicks. And besides, a rooster can get extremely aggressive with your hens. No need to give them hormones or anything else special to eat, just chicken feed. Mine also
love sunflower seeds and oats.
Enjoy the eggs:)

I have never commented before, but I just had to comment on this one. We have a lot of hawks around here too. A couple of friends have lost a lot of their chickens due to both hawks and coyotes. They have wondered if I have been losing mine too. I have never lost a bird in my flock yet! It just so happens that we have a turkey in our flock. She is the alpha when I'm not around. I have seen her scare off coyotes, hawks, and ravens, as she puffs up and flaps her wings at them after sounding the alarm to her friends! She is a great girl....way better than our watchdog even. She treats the chickens like they are her babies and protects them well! Who needs a noisy rooster around when you can have a guard turkey?

I live in town on a typical residential lot with two reds and two dogs. We have a hawk problem here too. I placed bird netting over a section of my garden near their coop. This gives them a place to hide in with the hibiscus. The only loss i've had was a dove that got nailed. The chickens scoot into hiding real quick when they or the other birds that live around my yard spot a hawk or a cat. The ruckus raised quickly brings out the mutts to scare it off.

I want to raise a few chickens for eggs. Can someone tell me if it's necessary to keep a rooster? Someone told me if I didn't I would have to feed hormones to the chickens. Does this sound right?

We have many red-tail hawks, raccoons, coyotes, etc., and I don't know of a fool-proof deterrent. However, we have several roosters, including one exceptionally large one, and they alert the hens to predators. The large rooster in particular has taken on a number of hawks, cats and raccoons and come out the winner.

I bought 8 young pullets in 2002 and I just have one left. The last one we lost last winter during a thaw. I was less than a block from my house when I saw this huge racoon dragging her along by the neck. I was so angry I got out of the car and kicked him away from her body. Unfortunatly her neck was broken and she couldn't be saved.

I read somewhere that people set up a couple of those plastic owls that folks put in their gardens. Haven't tried it personally, but it can't hurt?? Good luck!

I have a small flock of buff orpingtons, and I actually saw my rooster chase off a small grey hawk one day. The hawk had swooped in at one of the hens and the rooster was right there attacking it and chased it flapping as the hawk headed for the nearest tree empty-handed. Then the rooster noisily gathered up his girls and took them back to the orchard where their pen is, and there's cover from the trees. It was pretty impressive. We have red tails and bald eagles around here as well, and I doubt he could take one of those, but I'm sure he'd try.

We have been fortunate and not had any other predators, though we lost a cat to coyotes a couple years ago, so we know they are around.

I had trouble with hawks in the winter. Two things have worked for me. The first was fencing their area and string fishing line from end to end overhead. It doesn't have to be close together - even five feet apart seems to keep the hawks out - but this method requires you to keep your hens fenced in and the fishing line tends to break in the winter when it gets weighed down with snow or ice. It's a pain to keep up with picking up the pieces and restringing it.

I read that guinea fowl are excellent flock protectors, so a few years ago I ordered two. I haven't lost a hen since, and I've had a few opportunities to see the guineas in action. The guineas let out a shrill warning cry when there is a predator in the sky and the hens immediately run for cover. Guineas are NOISY birds, especially the females, but I've found them to be excellent protection for my flock and they also are great consumers of insects. Our tick and flea population is almost non-existent thanks to the guineas and chickens.

Our greatest protector for our chickens from predators has been a pot-bellied pig. In fact, since my husband built the pot-bellied pig hut on the back of the chicken house and since we began allowing the pig to free-range with the chickens, we have lost no chickens to predators. We are on our second pot-bellied pig now - the first passed away of old(er) age three years ago.

We have so many predators here! Fox, raccoons, hawks, and opossum are the worst, but there are also coyotes and down the road there is a problem with weasels.
Last spring, we increased our flock greatly. Anticipating our hawk problem, I researched and found that goats were helpful with this. We didn't want goats, so I then thought about a goat-scarecrow or a similar decoy, and then found a life-sized stuffed lion at the thrift store for $3.00. I attached the lion to the top of one of the chicken tractors, moved it occasionally and brought it in at night for a few weeks and we never saw another hawk until fall!
We did lose 10 chickens to fox, including the biggest rooster I have ever had, but without the electric fencing that we invested in, I am sure that there would have been many more losses. The chickens that were lost were either not fenced or they were out to far to run safely back in. (We raise a section during the day so that they can range and can run to safety if needed. We lower the fence at night and lock the birds in the tractors.)
At night, the fence is perfect for raccon and night predator problems.

We have chickens, ducks and guineas that free range and have found no fool proof way to keep them all safe all the time. However we do have two Great Pyrenees dogs that work 24/7 on their behalf. If there is any disturbance the dogs are johnny-on-the-spot, checking it out. Saw them go running down into our front field one day for no obvious reason. The dogs ran the guineas that were there off into the trees and began to whirl and jump at the sky before I realized that a red-tailed hawk was circling overhead. As for night predataton we have the birds trained to go in at night and they are closed up securely behind solid doors or chain-link gates and any "open pens" attached are covered by a tough olefin netting that nothing has ever (in three years) gotten though. Awoke one morning to find that our female Pyr had a tree over the duck pen staked out. There was a raccoon sitting in the crotch of the tree. Not 100% but these things have helped us.

I have 25 hens and two roosters that free range with my three goats. I believe the roosters help some, but I think the goats are a larger deterent! Also, they have their coop for shelter and the goat's shelter. The chickens scatter the hay the goats waste out of their manger, too. (I think next year I will move them both to a new fenced in area and use this one for a garden! It's fertilized and tilled and composed all in one!) But...back to the subject...since I put the chickens and goat together, I haven't lost any chickens to either hawks or owls. Last year I lost three to owls.

I allow my chickens to free-range in my backyard in the city (if you can call walking around a 1500 sq ft. yard free ranging), and I have had no problems with predation. From reading around online, though, I understand that a rooster can be a great asset in protecting a flock. They keep on the lookout for predators, and will alert the girls if they sense any danger. I've even read of a case (on a blog somewhere - sorry I forget which) where this guy's rooster attacked a hawk that had gotten one of the hens! Apparently he jumped on the hawk's back just as he was about to fly away with the chicken, and clasped on with his spurs, so the hawk dropped the chicken, and the rooster wouldn't let go until the hen got to safety. Crazy, no?! Unfortunately, it's against the law to get one in the city, but I'd definitely have one if I lived someplace they were allowed and would be tolerated by the neighbors.