"If you have chickens, advise please..." Topic

My girls roam free on the 1.7 acre property, three chickens, a Rhode Island and two Plymouth Rocks, all about nine months old. I noticed a broken egg shell under their coop yesterday and took a gander… eight eggs shells, all broken.

Now if this was a weasel or ferret (not native to our area anyways) the chickens would be at risk, same if it was a possum. No, after some research, its squirrels.

We have an abundance of squirrels and rabbits on the property also (and have no problem with that until now.)

I do not want to get rid of the squirrels, I just want them to leave the eggs alone. I do not want to suddenly fence in the girls, either, they are pets.

I heard from replies on enthusiast websites that Bantam (hens & roosters) are territorial and will chase down squirrels. Can anyone here verify that first-hand?

That would be the way to go if true, we could stand getting one more girl, though my wife has doubts, "What if the other chickens don't like her?"

lol…

We had the same problem in Puerto Rico. First the eggs went missing (not even shells). Then the little chicks would disappear. Then a few of the younger hens showed up with injuries. Then one was torn to pieces.

Indian mongooses.

We tried bringing in full grown roosters. One alone couldn't do the job, so we got another so they could team up. At first I thought they would hurt each other but they didn't. There were some serious adjustment in the entire little pecking order but, hey, that's the price they had to pay for not disappearing in the night.

Dan
PS. Plus, by that time the dog was used to the chickens, so he also lent a hand in the nightly mongoose watch. The chickens adapted quickly. One would never leave his side and even slept right against to him at night.

I've seen a bantam chase off a cat that was stalking the full size hens so I don't think they will have any problem seeing off a squirrel.

Robert

This Hercules will scare off any squirrels you might have around.

I would still consider a dog:

link

Dan
link

Here's some new kind of special chicken breed. Very protective.

Dan
YouTube link

Okay Dan, enlighten us on exactly what mental chain of events brought that video into your life?

Okay, where's the brain bleach?

Might help to put some laying bins in so the hens will start to lay in them instead of on the ground.

We have an uncle who keeps chickens, a couple dozen French Silkies, if memory serves. They have a coop and a pen all fenced in, but most days the chickens can roam the property. They come in at night, and lay their eggs in safety. This is the best of both worlds, since the chickens and eggs are protected but still get to roam.

Mine roamed but still had a coop to come home to each night. I guess I just assumed everyone else keeps an open coop for theirs too. Only one entry/exit point to worry about.

We just needed to boost their defenses with a couple of security guards, and the dog.

Never had any intruder problems after that.

Dan
PS. Waco Joe: "what mental chain of events"
Meds, bro. Lots of post-op pain meds at the moment. :)

Our chickens lay eggs during the day mostly, and I do lock up their coop/roost at night every night when they come put themselves to "bed."

So only one verification of a Bantam being territorial? I know they are smaller than other breeds; I'll have to make fixes to the bottoms of our gates so she does not roam under and outside. Not an issue with the full-sized girls.

HA! I have to "baby-proof" the place!

I did watch a feral hen chase a Army guy who was trying to mess with her brood – He ran about 100 yards with the hen on his tail

Chickens will eat mice if they can catch them. A goose will definitely see off any four-legged intruder.

Wyatt

Our daughter keeps chickens. Don't know the answer to
the squirrel problem 'cause the dog takes care of that.

A goose will keep everyone out for sure.

Dan

We have a whole lot of feral chickens here (hurricanes, chicken farms…), but they lay their eggs under cover, so I can't tell you what might break them.