Lost all of our hens last evening.............

[framing fowl]

Oh dear. That just stinks.

 

[freemotion]

Oh, so sorry! That must be horrible, seeing all that carnage, even if you were going to cull. Culling is humane. Weasels are not.

Even guys need hugs.

 

[Boogity]

Aw man! What a bummer. Please tell us how you know it was weasels.

bibliophile birds - please tell us more about the electric netting you are using. thanks.

 

[TanksHill]

So sorry for your loss. Very frustrating.

 

[dragonlaurel]

What a bummer. They are so wasteful too- it would be bad enough if they just had one for a meal and left. Something tells me the next coop will be FORT KNOX strong. Hardware cloth rules for keeping out the small predators.

 

[bibliophile birds]

bibliophile birds - please tell us more about the electric netting you are using. thanks.

i'm using the 12/48/3 double spike PoultryNet from Premier Supplies. i've had it a month and seriously love it. some others on the forum have used it and didn't care for it, but, for me, it's been awesome.

i power mine with a car battery hooked to a fence charger. when the battery gets low, i switch to my back-up battery (a cheaper, lower powered one) and recharge the main one at the house. so, you do have added expenses other than just the fence, but you could feasibly hook it into an existing electric fence or, if it's close to a building, you can plug the fence charger right into an electrical outlet.

 

[lalaland]

sorry to hear that - I think a weasel got two of mine a few weeks ago, and I powered up the electric fence after that and lined the interior of the wire fence with chicken wire so the silly little buggers wouldn't stick their heads through and electrocute themselves.

bibliophile, can your chickens reach the netting? or is it chicken safe?

and the rattraps up a pole idea, I love!!! I might try that on a tree that is up against one of my fences, I worry something will climb the tree avoiding the electric wire, and hello chicken dinner.

 

[SKR8PN]

Aw man! What a bummer. Please tell us how you know it was weasels.

bibliophile birds - please tell us more about the electric netting you are using. thanks.

A week ago, I moved the chicken tractor closer to an electrical outlet,tarped it, plugged in the heat lamp and water heater. I then stacked 20 bales of straw around the base and walls to help insulate them. I did the very same thing last winter and it worked great. I went out to feed them this morning, and found the first hen out near the door. When I went inside is when I found the carnage. I was so pizzed off, I decided to just move all the bales to the garden until spring. I checked for tracks first, since we had fresh snow.....found none. While removing the bales I found the small hole where it/they tunneled in and had at it. About the size of a rat hole, never touched any of the grain, so a weasel is the only thing it could have been.

 

[Denim Deb]

So sorry to hear that. I've lost 1 to a dog, and 2 to a hawk, but they were free ranging, so there wasn't much I could have done about that.

 

[bibliophile birds]

bibliophile, can your chickens reach the netting? or is it chicken safe?

the charger is a pulse charger. if it was a steady charge it would be bad- chickens that pecked the wire would probably get fried. as it is, mine don't seem too inclined to peck at it.

poultry are very well insulated against electric shock by their feathers so they actually have to hit the fence with bare skin (like a leg or face) to even feel it. a couple of mine have gotten zapped but no problems. it's almost ALL for the predators and our stupid cows who think they need in the chicken yard.