Tips to Protect Your Flock

As the weather heats up, more and more people are spending time outside. Then, when you go to Tractor Supply and other farm stores, it can be hard to pass up the cute little chicks that they have for sale. If you are interested in chicks, you may want to read my article about how to raise chicks so that you can get all the eggs that you need (plus enjoy these special creatures). 

That being said, once chicks have grown into full-grown chickens, you still have to work hard to keep them safe. There are many predators in your yard looking for their next meal, and chickens are pretty easy targets.

If you are unsure about how to keep your chickens safe, here are some tips to help.

It helps to know what you are fighting against. Depending on your location, you may be dealing with many different types of predators. Though hawks, raccoons, and foxes live almost anywhere, you might be dealing with something you never imagined. You might have bobcats, wolves, bears, and other hungry creatures looking for their next meal. 

Once you know what you are dealing with, you can come up with a plan. If you have bears, you may need a sturdier house for your chickens. Weasels came even come through chain link fence, so you might need smaller wire fencing if you are dealing with these critters.

If you do lose a chicken, try to figure out what happened. Though you may not want to think about it, the truth is that you can learn from your loss. If you can figure out what happened, you can make the necessary changes to make sure that it doesn't happen again. 

If you didn't lock your chickens up at night, you may realize that you need to do so. If something swooped down and got them from above, you may need to add something on top of your coop to keep your chickens safe. You may even find a hole that needs to be fixed. 

That being said, you may want to change your protection plan regularly. Unfortunately, predators are smart, and they will figure out when you are trying to mess with them. If you have owls and scarecrows around trying to scare them, you are going to want to move them every couple of days.

Know what you are allowed and not allowed to do with any predators. Though you may want to kill anything that is after your chickens, you could seriously get into trouble if you harm the wrong animal. Many species, especially hawks are protected, and you could face serious penalties if you harm one!

Free-ranging chickens isn't always a good idea. Though many people like to let their chickens roam their property, the truth is that it makes them vulnerable to many predators. If you want to do this, you may want to make sure that they have plenty of hiding spaces where they can get away. This may include bushes and small shelters.

If you do free-range, you may want to have a good rooster. They are great at protecting their "ladies." They watch out for danger, and, if they find anything that they are worried about, they will do whatever it takes to keep their hens safe. Not only that, but they may move them into a safer location. Some roosters will even die trying to save their flock!

Remember that your own pets may not like the chickens like you do. Though most people are worried about wild predators, the simple truth is that our own pets, including our beloved dogs, may also hurt and kill our chickens. Not only that, but you may also have to worry about your neighbor's dogs, who might be looking for a treat!

Keeping your chickens safe means knowing what you are up against. Do you have weasels in your area? You are going to have to close up every small hole that you find in your chicken house. If you have bears, a chain link fence may not be enough to keep them out! If you have hawks, you are going to need to put some kind of roof on your chicken pen. 

If you lose one, it helps to understand what happened so you can do things differently. That being said, you need to be careful with what you do with some of the predators. While you can shoot some, there are some that are protected and you could face jail time if you hurt one. 

That being said, you also have to think about your own dogs. There are many dogs that will attack chickens, so you either need to keep them separate or train them the right way to behave around chickens!

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Previously published on Medium and/or Newsbreak.