Farmfresh
City Biddy
Soo sorry to hear about your losses. I have lost far more birds to predators than I ever have to sickness.savingdogs said:Do you think coons can climb chain link? The weird thing would be that they never did before. We have the standard dog kennel height fencing around most of it, but there is a low part that is about six feet. There is no place to grab a foothold there however, but coons are all around us, we see evidence of them being here all the time, whereas we have only once seen an owl (I think it was a spotted one!) and we only saw one bobcat.
Coons, however, we commonly see. I thought they were known for just eating the head off the chicken?
In answer to the question - yes! Raccoons can climb chain link and so can possums, and even some talented skunks! When the weather starts cooling down and again in the spring when they have babies to raise, predators often change their usual dining habits. A full chicken meal deal sounds pretty good when you are feeling cold.
If I was you I would put an electric wire around the pen and coop about 6 inches high and 6 inches out from the wire as well. That will help deter attacks. A couple of coon traps and some good hillbilly recipes wouldn't hurt matters either.