The Poultry Keeper

Chris Kurzfeld · Joined: 29 Oct 2007 Posts: 1712 Location: Carmarthenshire

Went out to let chooks out this morning and noticed the wood by the pophole on the big house had been chewed - OH is making an extra weldmesh door to go over the closed pophole as I type! BUT, when i went to let the chooks out of the smaller house i looked at the side of the big house only to see that something had been trying to chew it's way through the side!!!!!! Twisted Evil

. So OH is going to weldmesh the outside of the big house - the smaller house seems to be left alone, perhaps because it's off the ground with a run underneath????? How high do you think we need to weldmesh the outside? On looking around I can see paw marks (would fox chew?), which puzzle me as the run is 6' high and kept loose and i can't find any holes in it. The bait boxes are not being taken anymore and so far we haven't caught anything in the traps so don't know what to do next. We are going away tomorrow for the weekend (son's engagement party) and a neighbour is looking after everything - I really don't want for him to find a load of dead bodies!!!!!!

Sylvia · Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 8:53 am Post subject:

Oh dear Chris the predators certainly seem to have it in for you.

There was a programme on telly, I think it was about foxes and chickens and showed a fox tearing quite big chunks out of a ship-lap shed that someone was using as a chicken shed.

Chris Kurzfeld · Joined: 29 Oct 2007 Posts: 1712 Location: Carmarthenshire

This is a tongue and groove shed Sylvia so hoping they can't get a purchase on it - they've had a damn good try though. We already weldmesh the floors in all our coops/broodies (both inside and out) - looks like we need to do the sides too!!!! Evil or Very Mad

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3540 Location: Monmouthshire

As a 'first aid' measure, creosote all the chewed areas. The chicken won't mind, but the chewer will.

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1452 Location: Leicestershire

Oooohhhh Henwife you mentioned the "C" word - you naughty girl. . . . . Very Happy

How big are the bite marks? A rat will have a go as well as a fox - but the chew marks will be quite different. A fox will "paw" at it as well so there will be scratch marks. Bear in mind if it is a fox if he gets his claws into the weldmesh he will be able to tear it off unless it is on really, really well (got the tee shirt for that one)

Itsybitsy

Chris Kurzfeld · Joined: 29 Oct 2007 Posts: 1712 Location: Carmarthenshire

Hubby spent all yesterday putting on weldmesh up to 2' from the bottom - the inside of the shed is already weldmeshed on the floor and about 6" up the sides. He has also made a mesh gate to go over the pophole at night.

Thanks for your PM thornbird - spoken to a local who is coming round next week to eradicate what he can. Can't find any breaks in the fence at all, the base is sunk into the ground so nothing can dig under and, as the fence is loose, I can't see them getting over - can't find any fur/hair either, only a few pawprints but OH said that one of our dogs had been in the run the day before. Our dogs are fine with the chooks and are kenneled at night anyway, I don't think any other dog could have got in without it being obvious as i padlock the gate at night. We have already said the next step will be an electric fence - the mind boggles at electric fencing a run of 100' x 60' though Shocked

. Think it may have been mink again as the bite marks on the side looked too far up for rat.

Can't get creosote here anymore - at least not the smelly kind - but local feed merchant, who has ducks and geese, recommended stockhlom tar (sp) daubed all over the coops/sheds - especially round the doors and popholes. It's fine for poultry but rats, foxes etc... don't like the smell, my houses and broody coops are all now supporting black smelly spots Laughing

. Have reset all traps - now all I have to do is try not to worry whilst we are away this weekend!