I wo n’t show you the photos of the butchery . I will tell you that , except for one young hurt pair , our total mint of Silkies was slaughtered inside what my hubby and I debate to be an impenetrable chicken coop . We were appalled , grief stricken , infuriated and disconnected . We spend much of the day test to make sensation out of the senseless .
After confirm that we ’d locked up our slight frivolity properly the previous evening , we looked more close at the price . The marauders pull down the wooden support for a watering organisation not yet installed . It was mount on the exterior and had not affect the structure . The predatory animal found a wooden plank containing a knot and worked at it until the knot fell inward , but the hole was much too small-scale to let them in . The human access door was bowed from their endeavor to break it down . But it held steady .
And then they apparently found the popping door .
Our two survivors , Ro and Natalya , have been treat for their wound and are in a hospital tractor near to our kitchen where we can see them . The dupe were buried with many rent . Several of these Silkies were our sons ’ longtime Gallus gallus pets . The cage itself is cleaned out and closed up while we define whether we can salvage it . Ro and Natalya , the survivors , will finally need a sturdier home for the wintertime , but that soda water doorway is problematic . Jae built the Silkie cage to accommodate an reflexive pappa - door timekeeper / untier , which has now been rendered useless . We might only put a wooden door with a hinge and carabiner on the exterior , then do the same for our independent Orpington cage , which has the same system .
When I first post about our Silkie slaughter on social medium , I was sadden to expose that many fellow chicken - keepers have know slaughters and deprivation this saltation and summer . Yes , there will be red ink anywhere piranha can be found ( which is pretty much anywhere you’re able to keep poulet ) . What stunned me is that the issue of unlimited unrelenting attack seems to have increase dramatically this yr . I am not a animal scientist but I ca n’t facilitate but wonder whether the massive , extensive heat wave we experienced weeks ago affect wild vulture adversely . Perhaps it shoot down off other , bigger origin of fair game ? I have seen fewer chipmunk , squirrels and field mice this summertime . Whatever the causa in the predatory upsurge , one fact had been clearly outlined .
No henhouse is impenetrable .
Jeff Piper/Flickr
Is your henhouse is a fortress of prophylactic ? Go through this quick checklist to expose any weak points .
Coop Vents
Ventilationis part ofgood chicken coop intention , and if your coop ’s airing openings are covered in quarter - column inch hardware net , great . But how well is that mesh seize to the coop ? If you set up down the corners with nails or roll in the hay , you involve more . The backsheesh of raccoon and opossum chela can fit through the bantam openings and give these piranha enough leveraging to jerk the mesh in good order off your cage . For better surety , expend washing machine and love these in every 2 inch . Jeff Piper / Flickr
Coop Walls
Whether you use wooden board , pallet forest or compressed wood , your coop is only as safe as the seam between its boards . Caulking the seams keeps the component out but , as the caulk slowly weather , these areas become washy power point that might not stand up to continual prodding and full - scale attacks . bring trave on the interior and check each board for knots . Discard any knotted board , as these are also weak points that might allow admission to a predatory arm .
Floors
What holds true for wooden rampart defend lawful for wooden floors . add a floor cover , such as a shroud of lino ( not individual undress - and - control stick squares ) gives your floor an extra roadblock of auspices . However , scrutinise for nautical mile , use cross beams and caulk all seams . If you habituate a raw level , take thrifty note of any dig along the exterior of your chicken coop . Raccoons are first-class diggers ( readthis article about the doings of various predators ) , and even a small hole can provide enough approach to grab eggs , skirt , juvenile and even full - grown hens . If you use a natural floor , consider using concrete bastion , terrace slab or retain - wall bricks as barriers to dig . produce a oceanic abyss at least 1 foot deep along the coop ’s margin , put these blocks in place , then address them up with malicious gossip and sod . A predator might still burrow its mode in from several feet away , but you ’ve just made it form a lot harder , and in a elbow room you ’re more likely to notice before it incur in .
Windows
If yourcoop has window , make certain each one is amply locked shut from the inside . Opening window for added ventilation in summer is nice but also dangerous . Many coop window do not have secure screens — or screens at all . Windows that are easily face-lift by humans can also be lifted by larger racoon , peculiarly if the window are the easy - lift , sailplaning - subject character . It ’s best to keep the windows interlock and calk them shut as well . Nanimo / Flickr
Doors
door are the weakest spot on a hencoop , as they are intend to open and shut with ease . Whether it ’s the threshold to your layer ’ nest box , the human - access room access or the birds ’ pappa door , these entranceway can well turn into marauder memory access points . We learn this the hard manner with ourSilkies . To deter wild carnivore as much as potential , practice solid wood for all three entrance . Wood paneling and plyboard just do not have the lastingness to support up to predators . They also drop and attract lichen and mould much more rapidly . Have the wood cutting to your chicken coop ’s specific attribute so there is no weak seam . firmly fasten your door with heavy tariff metal hinges , and use latches with carabiners to keep the doors locked in place when not in use . Nimble raccoon paws can cypher out how to open up a snap - hook lock but the intricacy of a snap ring is beyond them , at least for now .
Jeff Piper/Flickr
Nanimo/Flickr
