protecting your flock of chickens
Just so you know, chicken is tasty; and, humans aren’t the only ones who know that little nugget of information. If you have chickens in your backyard you may have already discovered the fact that you have to be on your guard at all times from predators. Goodness there are predators who fly, dig, crawl, climb and slither. It is good to know these things so that you can protect your birds from as many of those critters as possible if you want to maintain your investment in a backyard flock of chickens.
With a little bit of pre-planning you can cut down on opportunities that the predators have for thinking of your chicken coop as a take out chicken place. Consider the design of your chicken coop for instance. It’s a good thing to build a coop that is up off of the ground either by placing its structure up on bricks, poles or elevating it from the ground level by a frame-work of two by fours. Having a solidly constructed floor without holes for rodents or snakes to be able to enter the coop is important for protecting your eggs from being stolen from you. If you must have a dirt floor in the chicken coop; invest in some chicken wire and lay it on the ground and staple it to the building so that there is no way for a digging predator to find their way into the building.
It is also important to cover any windows, vents or under eve openings with chicken wire, again that is to prevent climbing or flying predators from gaining entrance to the building. This will eliminate the chances of such critters sneaking into the building unnoticed.
If your birds are totally free range chickens there is little you can do to protect them yourself, outside of planting many bushes and trees that will provide shaded coverage for them to shelter themselves from flying predators. However, if you desire to give them the best of both worlds…you can fence in a large area which will allow them the freedom of motion and the ability to dig in the dirt and grass for bugs & worms. When you plan out your fencing boundaries, plan to include some landscaping perks such as small trees, bushes or tall grass. The chickens will adore the shelter from the elements that they provide as well as the variety of pests for them to find to eat under the brush and leaves.
As you perform your feeding and watering chores daily; do a little security check of the premises. Make sure that your fencing is upright and not bent, nor dug under around the perimeter. Watch the birds closely in how they interact with one another. The rooster will usually give you a heads up if there is a chicken hawk or some other flying predator in the area by the way he acts with his hens. He will make noise and act protective which usually causes the hens and chicks to take cover either under the trees, bushes, tall grasses or in or underneath the chicken coop. That is his job to protect his ladies.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to do your best to provide a safe environment for your backyard chickens to live, breed, and produce well. If you happen to enjoy the process…all the better!